Why Jews Don't Believe In Jesus

For 2,000 years Jews have rejected the Christian idea of Jesus as messiah. Why?

One of the most common questions we receive at Aish.com is: "Why don't Jews believe in Jesus?" Let's understand why – not to disparage other religions, but rather to clarify the Jewish position.

Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because:

Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies.

Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah.

Biblical verses "referring" to Jesus are mistranslations.

Jewish belief is based on national revelation.

But first, some background: What exactly is the Messiah?

The word "Messiah" is an English rendering of the Hebrew word Mashiach, which means "anointed." It usually refers to a person initiated into God's service by being anointed with oil. (Exodus 29:7, 1-Kings 1:39, 2-Kings 9:3)

(1) Jesus Did Not Fulfill the Messianic Prophecies

What is the Messiah supposed to accomplish? One of the central themes of biblical prophecy is the promise of a future age of perfection characterized by universal peace and recognition of God. (Isaiah 2:1-4, 32:15-18, 60:15-18; Zephaniah 3:9; Hosea 2:20-22; Amos 9:13-15; Micah 4:1-4; Zechariah 8:23, 14:9; Jeremiah 31:33-34)

Specifically, the Bible says he will:

Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).

Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).

Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4)

Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "God will be King over all the world – on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9).

If an individual fails to fulfill even one of these conditions, then he cannot be the Messiah.

Because no one has ever fulfilled the Bible's description of this future King, Jews still await the coming of the Messiah. All past Messianic claimants, including Jesus of Nazareth, Bar Cochba and Shabbtai Tzvi have been rejected.

Christians counter that Jesus will fulfill these in the Second Coming. Jewish sources show that the Messiah will fulfill the prophecies outright; in the Bible no concept of a second coming exists.

(2) Jesus Did Not Embody the Personal Qualifications of Messiah

A. Messiah as Prophet

The Messiah will become the greatest prophet in history, second only to Moses. (Targum – Isaiah 11:2; Maimonides – Teshuva 9:2)

Prophecy can only exist in Israel when the land is inhabited by a majority of world Jewry, a situation which has not existed since 300 BCE. During the time of Ezra, when the majority of Jews remained in Babylon, prophecy ended upon the death of the last prophets – Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

Jesus appeared on the scene approximately 350 years after prophecy had ended, and thus could not be a prophet.

B. Descendant of David

Many prophetic passages speak of a descendant of King David who will rule Israel during the age of perfection. (Isaiah 11:1-9; Jeremiah 23:5-6, 30:7-10, 33:14-16; Ezekiel 34:11-31, 37:21-28; Hosea 3:4-5)

The Messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David (see Genesis 49:10, Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5, 33:17; Ezekiel 34:23-24). According to the Christian claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no father – and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement of being descended on his father's side from King David. (1)

According to Jewish sources, the Messiah will be born of human parents and possess normal physical attributes like other people. He will not be a demi-god, (2) nor will he possess supernatural qualities.

C. Torah Observance

The Messiah will lead the Jewish people to full Torah observance. The Torah states that all mitzvot remain binding forever, and anyone coming to change the Torah is immediately identified as a false prophet. (Deut. 13:1-4)

Throughout the Christian "New Testament," Jesus contradicts the Torah and states that its commandments are no longer applicable. For example, John 9:14 records that Jesus made a paste in violation of Shabbat, which caused the Pharisees to say (verse 16), "He does not observe Shabbat!"

(3) Mistranslated Verses "Referring" to Jesus

Biblical verses can only be understood by studying the original Hebrew text – which reveals many discrepancies in the Christian translation.

A. Virgin Birth

The Christian idea of a virgin birth is derived from the verse in Isaiah 7:14 describing an "alma" as giving birth. The word "alma" has always meant a young woman, but Christian theologians came centuries later and translated it as "virgin." This accords Jesus' birth with the first century pagan idea of mortals being impregnated by gods.

B. Suffering Servant

Christianity claims that Isaiah chapter 53 refers to Jesus, as the "suffering servant."

In actuality, Isaiah 53 directly follows the theme of chapter 52, describing the exile and redemption of the Jewish people. The prophecies are written in the singular form because the Jews ("Israel") are regarded as one unit. Throughout Jewish scripture, Israel is repeatedly called, in the singular, the "Servant of God" (see Isaiah 43:8). In fact, Isaiah states no less than 11 times in the chapters prior to 53 that the Servant of God is Israel.

When read correctly, Isaiah 53 clearly [and ironically] refers to the Jewish people being "bruised, crushed and as sheep brought to slaughter" at the hands of the nations of the world. These descriptions are used throughout Jewish scripture to graphically describe the suffering of the Jewish people (see Psalm 44).

Isaiah 53 concludes that when the Jewish people are redeemed, the nations will recognize and accept responsibility for the inordinate suffering and death of the Jews.

(4) Jewish Belief is Based Solely on National Revelation

Throughout history, thousands of religions have been started by individuals, attempting to convince people that he or she is God's true prophet. But personal revelation is an extremely weak basis for a religion because one can never know if it is indeed true. Since others did not hear God speak to this person, they have to take his word for it. Even if the individual claiming personal revelation performs miracles, they do not prove he is a genuine prophet. All the miracles show – assuming they are genuine – is that he has certain powers. It has nothing to do with his claim of prophecy.

Judaism, unique among all of the world's major religions, does not rely on "claims of miracles" as the basis for its religion. In fact, the Bible says that God sometimes grants the power of "miracles" to charlatans, in order to test Jewish loyalty to the Torah (Deut. 13:4).

Of the thousands of religions in human history, only Judaism bases its belief on national revelation – i.e. God speaking to the entire nation. If God is going to start a religion, it makes sense He'll tell everyone, not just one person.

Maimonides states (Foundations of Torah, ch. 8):

The Jews did not believe in Moses, our teacher, because of the miracles he performed. Whenever anyone's belief is based on seeing miracles, he has lingering doubts, because it is possible the miracles were performed through magic or sorcery. All of the miracles performed by Moses in the desert were because they were necessary, and not as proof of his prophecy.

What then was the basis of [Jewish] belief? The Revelation at Mount Sinai, which we saw with our own eyes and heard with our own ears, not dependent on the testimony of others... as it says, "Face to face, God spoke with you..." The Torah also states: "God did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us – who are all here alive today." (Deut. 5:3)

Judaism is not miracles. It is the personal eyewitness experience of every man, woman and child, standing at Mount Sinai 3,300 years ago.

Waiting for the Messiah

The world is in desperate need of Messianic redemption. To the extent that we are aware of the problems of society, is the extent we will yearn for redemption. As the Talmud says, one of the first questions asked of a Jew on Judgment Day is: "Did you yearn for the arrival of the Messiah?"

How can we hasten the coming of the Messiah? The best way is to love all humanity generously, to keep the mitzvot of the Torah (as best we can), and to encourage others to do so as well.

Despite the gloom, the world does seem headed toward redemption. One apparent sign is that the Jewish people have returned to the Land of Israel and made it bloom again. Additionally, a major movement is afoot of young Jews returning to Torah tradition.

The Messiah can come any day, and it all depends on our actions. God is ready when we are. For as King David says: "Redemption will come today – if you hearken to His voice."

FOOTNOTES

(1) In response, it is claimed that Joseph adopted Jesus, and passed on his genealogy via adoption. There are two problems with this claim:

a) There is no biblical basis for the idea of a father passing on his tribal line by adoption. A priest who adopts a son from another tribe cannot make him a priest by adoption.

b) Joseph could never pass on by adoption that which he doesn't have. Because Joseph descended from Jeconiah (Matthew 1:11) he fell under the curse of that king that none of his descendants could ever sit as king upon the throne of David. (Jeremiah 22:30; 36:30)

To answer this difficult problem, apologists claim that Jesus traces himself back to King David through his mother Mary, who allegedly descends from David, as shown in the third chapter of Luke. There are four basic problems with this claim:

a) There is no evidence that Mary descends from David. The third chapter of Luke traces Joseph's genealogy, not Mary's.

b) Even if Mary can trace herself back to David, that doesn't help Jesus, since tribal affiliation goes only through the father, not mother. cf. Numbers 1:18; Ezra 2:59.

c) Even if family line could go through the mother, Mary was not from a legitimate messianic family. According to the Bible, the Messiah must be a descendent of David through his son Solomon (2-Samuel 7:14; 1-Chronicles 17:11-14, 22:9-10, 28:4-6). The third chapter of Luke is irrelevant to this discussion because it describes lineage of David's son Nathan, not Solomon. (Luke 3:31)

d) Luke 3:27 lists Shealtiel and Zerubbabel in his genealogy. These two also appear in Matthew 1:12 as descendants of the cursed Jeconiah. If Mary descends from them, it would also disqualify her from being a messianic progenitor.

(2) Maimonides devotes much of his "Guide for the Perplexed" to the fundamental idea that God is incorporeal, meaning that He assumes no physical form. God is eternal, above time. He is infinite, beyond space. He cannot be born, and cannot die. Saying that God assumes human form makes God small, diminishing both His unity and His divinity. As the Torah says: "God is not mortal" (Numbers 23:19).

Featured at Aish.com:

About the Author

Rabbi Shraga Simmons grew up trekking through snow in Buffalo, New York, enjoying summers as a tour guide at Niagara Falls. He holds a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. He is the co-founder of Aish.com, and founder of the Torah study site, JewishPathways.com. He is also the co-founder of HonestReporting.com, and author of "David & Goliath", the definitive treatment of media bias against Israel (2012). He lives with his wife and children in the Modi'in region of Israel.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 392

(323)
Deborah,
November 5, 2016 11:31 AM

Jewish Theology Stands The Test of Time

Having been born into a Christian household, I had always assumed and expected that the Old Testament was the natural precursor to the New Testament, the final Divine revelation. Now, upon studying Jewish theology, the Tanakh and the interpretations of excellent Rabbi's such as yourself and Rabbi Tovia Singer, it is clear that Christianity differs greatly, diverts from the Tanakh and then inserts its own explanations into the Tanakh (via the Septuagint) to maintain its core theology. That does not make Christianity an inherently bad religion, nor are Christians the only ones to do so (Islam does this to an even more egregious degree), but it does mean that as far as I am concerned, Judaism is the true revelation to mankind.

(322)
Hanna,
September 8, 2016 11:06 AM

True to His Torah.

There's only One God and He is testing us to see if we are faithful to Him. The Almighty God has given us Deuteronomy 13 to help us detect the false prophets.

(321)
NAA DEKING MAALIWOMBU,
February 13, 2016 1:41 PM

Judaism;Power over all

The world must acknowledge the Hebrew God as supreme over all other gods

(320)
Anonymous,
January 22, 2016 5:54 PM

I recall: as you believe it will be done to you.

(319)
Anonymous,
January 18, 2016 1:04 PM

why does the Catholic church lie

I cannot believe of why we have been lied too. I just recently this year just woke up to the lies been told. Firstly God said we must not have any other God before him as he is a jealous God. Why did he send his son Jesus to earth and change his commandants and we must go through Jesus to get to God. Why would God want us to drink blood and eat flesh. In memory of him. Is that part of evil doever? I am very upset and asking help. But I am sure God will give me guidance from wise people.

Matt,
August 27, 2016 4:43 PM

You Might Like...

Check out "Essays on Christianity and Judaism" by Leo Baeck. A professor friend of mine and former teacher of mine (Dr. Jeff Kleiman, UW Marshfield. It may help you organize your thoughts about this subject.

(318)
Anonymous,
December 27, 2015 6:01 PM

Check out Rabbi Tovia Singer

Check out any of the writings of Rabbi Tovia Singer, who is one of the foremost authorities on this topic!

(317)
Anonymous,
November 1, 2015 4:15 PM

Simple message of support

An informative article with rational explanations of the Jewish position. I have long been a member of the "goyim underground" but, until now had not heard it referred to as such. Sadly, there is no Jewish community in my immediate area and, at my age (77) I'm not sure there would be much point in my formal adoption of Judaism. However, I will continue to support the Jewish faith to the best of my ability, not least because the Jewish people have contributed significantly more to humanity than any other identifiable group.

(316)
Ilaisa,
September 28, 2015 8:32 PM

Being a privilege reading through this article.

Thank you for the article

(315)
Tim Jenkins,
September 21, 2015 5:14 AM

Finally

I am not Jewish but wish I was. I have always believed that Jesus wasn't the messiah since he didn't qualify.

Anonymous,
December 27, 2015 5:59 PM

You don't have to just "wish" you were a Jew

You can always become a Jew, Tim, by converting to Judaism.

Just make sure it's a Halachic (not "Reform" or "Conservative") conversion, or it doesn't count.

(314)
Anonymous,
June 21, 2015 12:57 PM

Learning is part of real faith

We are sheep and easily lead astray. Blind faith is simply an easy way to satisfy our need for peace even if it doesn't exist! Our weakness is tested when our loved ones are threatened and no limits apply when we must defend against evil at that moment in time we are behaving as our natural behavior dictates.

(313)
Christine Glowania,
June 18, 2015 6:15 AM

Wonderfull explained.

Brilland article! Thank you, for this :-)

Anonymous,
July 29, 2015 1:39 AM

I am so thankful for this

(312)
Sanford,
June 8, 2015 5:28 AM

Helpful refresher and teaching tool

As a Jew, I am often asked the question regarding the belief in Jesus. This article served as both a refresher for us and a teaching tool for those who ask the question. This article was clear and concise.

(311)
Joshua,
June 2, 2015 11:56 PM

New testament believer

I read your article but really need to look more into it. I accepted Jesus as messiah many years ago but love the Jewish people according to what I have read in both testaments of the bible. All gospel believers read about the first Jews that started the early Church in the book of Acts. If Christ was the savior then i am dead in sin and of no hope. Also I will never know if I'm righteous enough by following mans traditions or Jewish/laws. Please if you read this read some of Pauls teachings and i pray we all find the truth. Be Blessed.

Dvirah,
July 20, 2015 4:08 PM

Don't Worry

You can only "die in sin" without a "savior" if you believe that life/living is a sin - which is saying that G-d created you soley in order to condem you to "eternal" misery. Do you really see the Creator as such an sadist?

I suggest that instead of shaking in you boots, you cultivate a direct relationship with the Creator. As you are a non-Jew, I recommend becoming a Noahide - a follower of the 7 commandments given to Noah & his family after the Flood. There are several Noahide websides; here is one of them: http://www.noahide.org.

Eliana Liorit,
August 7, 2015 4:31 PM

G-d is your hope

You don't need anything but G-d and you don't need to be of a any particular religion to "be saved." Turn to Torah and Tanach. The answers are there. and, seek out sources like Jews for Judaism and Outreach Judaism.

You don't need Paul. You need G-d and only G-d.

Uri Yitzchak,
August 20, 2015 2:37 PM

Follow

The Truth is in G-d's Torah-He gave it to us and we follow His teachings.

(310)
Barbara Cizek,
June 2, 2015 4:13 AM

Modern monarchs

I am willing to bet that some modern day Christian monarchs are direct descendants of KING DAVID.

(309)
David,
April 20, 2015 10:13 PM

Knowledge of the Jewish side helpful.

I'm a Roman Catholic, always in search of the truth (and, yes, there is such a thing), and consider myself an ardent Zionist. Your information here is very helpful in furthering my knowledge of and appreciation for Judaism. Thank you.

(308)
Anne M Bertram,
April 17, 2015 2:22 PM

I love this education and information.

Please include me in any other posts. I would love to be informed of any events to become more involved. Thank you. Today is Shabbat...Shabbat Shalom.

(307)
Anonymous,
March 24, 2015 12:57 PM

thank you

Dear Rabbi - i wanted to thank you for this thoughtful explanation. My daughter goes to catholic school and the beauty of a religious school is that the children ask themselves the most impressive questions that most children do not think about. Often, I do not know how to answer her questions
I have friends who are Jewish and they did not know how to answer either do thank you.

(306)
BT,
February 19, 2015 7:37 AM

Great article

I identify as an atheist/agnostic and a former christian out of the church of christ. What led me to actually studying more about the bible was learning Hebrew and studying the entire bible in its original language. Oddly it led me to atheism lol but I MUST make this known that I continue to study as much as I can. I love learning about cultures and religions. This is one of the best articles I've ever come across and plan to refer to this when I need something to reference regarding the character of jesus. Excellent write up!!!

william goldman,
May 11, 2015 10:31 AM

i shall never accept jesus christ as MY GO.

I AM 74 YEARS OLD. BAR MITZVA'D AT AGE 13. I WAS RAISED BY ORTHODOX PARENTS, ONE FROM RHODE ISLAND, THE OTHER FROM VLADAMICHEL IN THE UKRAINE. THEY BOTH TOLD ME "VELVEL, YOU MUST NEVER ACCEPT CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR. THIS WOULD BE BLASPHEMY". I BELIEVE THIS TO THIS DAY,

(305)
Daniel,
February 10, 2015 12:48 AM

Jesus debunked!

This is very intelligent analysis on Jesus and Christianity as a religion.
While I'm an atheist I find Judaism a very logical religion (it actually makes sense), while Christianity appears to me as a highly contrived and contradictory tale; a sort of twisted religious black mail.
This article should be the ultimate guide to debate your Christians friends. Thank you!

(304)
Sue,
January 17, 2015 12:30 AM

Finally

I am currently exploring all different religious beliefs and its this one that fascinats me the most thank you for helping me understand but still confused as to why your religion has been persecuted so much x

Anonymous,
January 24, 2015 3:11 PM

With ya Sue

I agree. Not being a 'follower' of any religion, I have long been fascinated by the fact that Jesus was Jewish and yet Christianity and Judaism are completely at odds. I found this to be very enlightening.

(303)
Anonymous,
January 11, 2015 9:42 AM

I understand Jewish people

I'm glad I now understand the faith.

(302)
lanie henry,
December 2, 2014 9:33 PM

ok

this was very helpful turns out im a jew WHO NEW <3

Coach,
January 24, 2015 3:08 PM

Me Too!

Hmmm, gotta say, I never realized that I too am Jewish!!

Anonymous,
May 18, 2015 7:35 AM

Judaism goes by the mother

Judaism is passed through the mother only. Kingship, priesthood and tribe are passed through the father.

(301)
Yakov Goldstein,
November 15, 2014 2:28 PM

Serving G-d; being kind to others

Garden of Emuna is an excellent book. Describes our purpose in this world to Serve G-d by connecting with him and by serving others. This is an excellent article which I've read many times in various forms. I like to add the following line of thinking prior to this explanation:1) Do you believe in G-d?2) Do you believe G-d is infinite?3) Do you believe his knowledge of the universe is infinite?4) Do you believe and all knowing, infinite Creator could possible make a mistake if his knowledge is also infinite?5) Do you believe in the divinity of the Torah? Old Testament to Christians?6) So if an all knowing, infinite Creator inspired the writing of a book; why would He ever change his mind? 7) Why do people mistranslate the original Aramaic language the Torah was written in? To fit their religion?8) Great video: type in you tube: From Christian Pastor to Jewish Rabbi. You can hear from hundreds who came to the same conclusion.9) You don't need to be Jewish to serve G-d and live truth. Noahides have found a way to live Torah and serve G-d. Some eventually choose to convert.

Diane Williams,
December 3, 2014 2:27 PM

Just want the truth

I am a Christian but I have always felt a yearning for truth. I believe that Cgristianity is not the embodiment of what God wants his people to be. I just want the truth about my God and His people.

(300)
Anonymous,
November 14, 2014 8:30 AM

after reading why jews do not believe that jesus is the messiah I am more confuse. I might as well conclude that bible scholars do not have the same interpretation that is why thousands of religion exist.

(299)
Anonymous,
September 22, 2014 5:54 AM

Response in Connecting

Miss Whitney, I truly enjoyed reading your post thank you! So much that even I myself do not ever reply to anything I believe to be disbelief or negative on the internet, but I somehow "felt" like reaching out to you because I myself have seen so much in my 34 years of living that I am far convinced that there is something beautiful which exists in the heavens. I was raised Catholic and have never changed my belief and I always hold much respect for other religions who "believe" in different God's, but carry strong ethical moral behavior.... I lost everything I ever loved at an early age in life (half my family) , witnessing dear friend committing suicide at 14 years old etc and even though I went off the "deep end", by carrying my "belief" I began noticing all my internal, scarred & tattoo wounds began being healed in such a way that it actually feels soothing now for thinking about what I had to go through to create who and what I am doing now in life..... For about my first 20 years of life I did not understand why my mom had gotten into 2 car accidents when she was pregnant with me, after born I was dropped and suffered broken shoulder, my oldest sister was killed in one of the most tragic car accidents ever recorded in my Counties history, I was 9 and pronounced dead at the scene but awoke from a deep coma 3 days later, I was in a body cast for a year, never understand why God had taken the best oldest sister a kid could ever ask for, yet I did manage to "hear" and "feel" her presence with me several times now, my father later diagnosed with terminal cancer when I was 19, 3 years later I was struck by an ambulance while riding my luxurious Italian Super bike AGAIN suffering fractured pelvis, dislocated femur, fractured tibia/fibia etc and all this that's happened to me and much more but what I truly believe is we all have special "missions" in life and its our choice of whether we want to pursue what God has in store for us. Plz email meBK

(298)
Whitney,
September 8, 2014 10:56 PM

VERY, very, fews times do I ever feel the need to comment to any article on the internet. I am usually one of those who reads the article, it's comments, and then moves on to the next thing. but...I felt the need to respond. This article impacted me in a way that is hard to express...simply put, I feel a connection.My family grew up catholic, and converted to Christianity. So for a while I was Christian. And sometime two years ago, I became atheist. Yet, I have always felt a higher power around. Not Jesus, but something. I could never fully explain my feelings to anyone or myself. So I decided to try my best to understand everyone and anyone's views on religion, life, and relationships. Maybe, perhaps to better understand my own beliefs. Therefore, my mind became less narrow-minded and more open, which I am thankful for. I am only 20 years old and my goal is to let people know that I want to connect with them and understand them for who they are, no matter what faith or choices they do or choose to believe in. I am not a judgmental person. I also believe that if something is flawed, you should have the right to point it out and question it. I think that there is nothing wrong with simply wondering and questioning. Christianity doesn't want you to question how or why, you just have to accept. That's not me. But a lot of what Jews believe in make sense to me. I never really felt the call towards a religion till just now.

(297)
CONNIE HALE,
August 30, 2014 8:23 PM

SOMETIMES PEOPLE THINK I'M JEWISH

FOR MANY YEARS, I HAVE KNOWN MANY THAT ARE JEWISH. SOME PEOPLE ARE SO AFRAID OF ASKING JEWISH PEOPLE QUESTIONS. NOT ME. SOME HAVE ACTUALLY ASKED ME IF I AM JEWISH. I AM A NON-PARTICIPATING CATHOLIC.BUT THROUGH THE YEARS I HAVE QUESTIONED THE CATHOLIC RELIGION. I'M ALWAYS FIND MY SELF READING ABOUT THE WAYS OF THE JEWS. SOMETIMES I WONDER IF MAYBE I SHOULD BECOME JEWISH. THE WAY THEY HAVE BEEN TREATED IS BEYOND THE SOULS OF THE GUILTY. THEY ARE GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE.LET THERE BE PEACE IN ISRAEL.SHALOM.....................

David,
September 2, 2014 3:00 AM

You could be on to something....

You could be on to something....Sounds like you may have a Jewish soul and not even know it. Don't worry, this is a common thing since Judaism believes in reincarnation. Sometimes a Gentile can be born with a Jewish soul, in order for that soul to go thru major learning and challenges before if learns and decided to "come home" again to the Jewish people. C'mon back Connie!!

Kat,
September 15, 2014 4:03 AM

Very Interesting

I was adopted, and raised in a 2 Religion Family...My Mother is Catholic, and my late, beloved Father was Jewish! My whole Life, growing up, I was confused as to which "Religion" was the "Right One"! I've always felt a closer connection to my Father's Religion, than I did to my Mother's. I believe in "Reincarnation", whereas, I don't think the Catholic Religion does...Not really sure though!

Having been Adopted, I'm not sure what my "True Religion" really is...I just know that I don't believe that Jesus was the Messiah, and that there's no such thing as a "Virgin Birth"! Plus, G_d will never take on a Humanistic Form, as according to the Torah, "G_d is not a Mortal"

Anonymous,
November 9, 2014 6:43 PM

YES! I relate............

I was born & raised ultra-orthodox catholic, w/mom being a born catholic & dad a convert. I was deeply religious/spiritual from a young age, but there were things in catholicism that just never made sense to me, like: virgin birth, Mary worship, gruesome obsession with 1 particular crucifixion, belief that they are actually ingesting blood & flesh from a guy dead 2,000 yrs. ago (blood prohibited in Torah), idolizing & wearing crosses, the role of the priest as mediator between person & G-d, & in particular the idea that G-d would make Himself into a human so that he could sacrifice himself TO Himself! How does that make any sense?So, I gave it up & started a quest for "spiritual truths", which eventually led me to a study group learning Jewish Mysticism. THAT clicked. The techniques I learned WORKED. I learned to meditate & connect with G-d 1-on-1 (no priest, pope, etc.). I felt G-d pushing me towards attending synagogue, then to conversion class, & finally actually converting. That was in 1990 & no regrets. What David says about having a Jewish soul - I totally agree! I feel certain that I have been Jewish in other lifetimes & that I DO have a Jewish soul. Oddly, my dad loved Al Jolson & I grew up hearing him sing the Kol Nidre, Hatikvah, "Cantor on the Sabbath", etc. He had a lot of respect for the Jewish people, so it must have been passed on to me as well. Now I get to sing with our High Holy Days choir & do the choral part for Kol Nidre! It was the right decision for me, & I know that it was what G-d wanted me to do. Just listen for that "still, small voice" to guide you to where He wants you. Baruch Hashem!

(296)
Dolores Wiener,
August 26, 2014 6:42 AM

A Grateful Jewish Woman

We Jews are Blessed among people. I do believe that we are the chosen ones. We have withstood the scorn and hatred of antisemitic people throughout time and held on to our faith even stronger. Hitler had the power given him by the Germans...we Jews had power given to us by our Lord. The power to prevail and continue as a freedom loving people, to heal a sick world. L'Chaim!

(295)
Carlye,
August 7, 2014 7:49 AM

Thanks for this Article: Really Enlightning

I grew up Christian. It had been all i've ever known. Now I'm 32 and I've met many people from other religions who are good people and seem to be soul full. I'm searching for truth and the way. I've been skeptical for some time of the virgin birth. There's something inside me that feels unfaithful to God that Christians put Jesus on a pedestal and somewhat equal to God. Some say he is even the human embodiment of God. Is this not a contradiction of our very first commandment? It is. I can't honestly say that I am Christian if I don't believe in the virgin birth. I feel lost in that I don't have a religion. What if I die unprepared during this time of truth seeking? What's to happen to my soul? I've heard that Rabbis and Jewish don't seek for people to convert the way that Christians and Muslims do, but from what I've studied of religion the Jewish way seems right in my heart. I've heard that Jewish people refer to themselves as the chosen ones. Was I not chosen too? simply because of my birthplace? If I were chosen I would've been born Jewish? I feel I have a soul and I feel God walks with me. I want to know the Kingdom of God. I would never convert to a religion simply to marry or have someone love me. I would only do it if I truly believe it is the way and the truth and I felt God's call and approval, if that's possible. I'm compelled to learn more about Judaism and importantly truth. Thanks for any the article and any help you may feel you could provide me in my journey.

Sam,
August 10, 2014 4:05 AM

To answer one of your questions-

To help answer your question about whether you can still be considered 'chosen' even if you weren't born Jewish, I think you should read one of the articles from Ask the Rabbi- Titled "A Convert's Soul". Heres the linkhttp://www.aish.com/atr/A_Converts_Soul.html?catid=955173I hope it answers your question.

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antonia,
July 18, 2014 5:14 PM

One god for all people... And all he expects is goodness and love!!!! is that so hard people ????

(293)
airak,
June 9, 2014 6:01 PM

thank you for info

it makes sense..after debating with myself for a long time about religions.atleast i learned from this article importantly that in all of religions against on each beliefs ,that God is real!

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Anonymous,
May 18, 2014 1:37 AM

(e-mail address not in use)

wonderful. thank you for all your work.

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Melissa,
April 21, 2014 1:25 AM

I am a non practicing Catholic

I have through my adult life been a skeptic. I do believe in God.I went to a Catholic School. There was fear instilled in all the children by mean nuns. We were always told if someone is not baptized they could not enter their kingdom of heaven. A newborn child or baby could not enter heaven, but be in Limbo for all eternity. If we missed Mass and died before confessing our sins to a priest we could not enter heaven but instead hell awaited. Missing one Sunday mass was a mortal sin not a veniel sin. Missing mass carried the same wrath as murder. I am a believer that our God is a loving God and not a vengeful God. I do have doubts about the way I was taught. God would not allow anyone good, kind, selfless and loving whether it be child or adult baptized or not the hell we know of. Thank you for the info you've provided me personally from your site.

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jewish mama,
April 20, 2014 12:48 PM

To questioning chirstians...You can learn without abandoning your roots

I think it is important to share a few things. 1) judeo chirstian ethics are so closely linked and the closest in terms of morals, values, commandments, and the concepts of one G-d. Yes, we veer away from eachother regarding belief in Jesus. Keep in mind, when you question your Christian faith, you have the right to question, but you don't have to reject everything you grew up with at once in order to throw yourself into something else. for in fact...2) A good Rabbi will not allow you to do that. He will tell you that for those born non-jews, fulfillment of the 7 noahide laws (you can research this and probably already adhere to most of them) are really the only obligation. If you CHOOSE to take on more in learning, that is your choice. but the difference in the way we do things is that we don't SEEK to convert, we will share requested knowledge and allow you to make the choice, but again 3) a good rabbi will let you know that the peace and cooperation of the nations with the acknowledgement of one G-d and the Noahide laws is really a lesser and more manageable initial step. Just FYI to those who were fervent Christians and used to being ALL -IN...Good luck in your journey. I think it is always important to remember that we are all one people, across the globe, under G-d.

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Meira Shayna,
April 17, 2014 11:56 AM

The truth

As a person born into Judaism and from two families that were mostly born in Russia/lithuania/Rumania, etc. and who kept kosher all their lives ... I don't know the answers but Judaism teaches me to question.

In that way alone, Judaism is about freedom -- and that alone means the world to me on every level of my being.

john selvaggio,
July 28, 2014 1:03 AM

born of a virgin

It doesn't make sense. They believe Jesus was born of a virgin. But say he wasn't from the line of David. Think about it.

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Heriberto Velazquez,
February 3, 2014 7:03 AM

Finding the truth

I was raised catholic then turned Athiest then I turned Christian and now I am Agnostic .. For the last 2 years I've been searching for the truth and in all honesty I can say that Judism is the religion that makes the most sense to me.. The originator! I don't care of I have to change my life style! I just want to be a part of G-ds people and worship only 1 diety !!! Please send me any info to my email on how I can convert xx3ddiexx thank you

Moriah,
February 12, 2014 10:52 PM

Find an Orthodox rabbi near you

meet with him and ask him how to proceed. If you are serious you will have to make changes but as you will see if you do convert, every inconvenience and struggle will bring the most sublime pleasure of knowing you are worshiping the One true G-d. It's wonderful to be a Jew and take on the yoke of heaven but it is not necessary to worship G-d correctly.

Moriah

Anonymous,
May 15, 2014 3:39 PM

Judaism is not for everybody

why don't you consider noachide? Judaism is not for everybody and, as a gentile, you are not obligated to convert, yet have the benefits of serving G-d through the noachide laws.

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Anonymous,
January 20, 2014 6:12 AM

Exactly what I needed right now

I was born and raised in an Orthodox Jewish home, and never had any doubts about my religion. I know it to be the truth. Two years ago, I registered in a college online, because I did not have time to go to school on campus. The only college I found that had good reviews, where I can get my entire degree online, was a Christian University. I was told that I would be required to take one class about Christianity, and I am in the middle of it right now. I was interested in the beginning to read more about what Christians think, and how their religion works, but now I cannot wait until it is over. The more I read, the less sense it makes. It boggles my mind (and I am not trying to offend any Christian out there) how this religion ever took off. The only good thing I can say about how Christianity works is that Christians also believe in the Ten Commandments, and have similar morals to Jews.

Anonymous,
February 12, 2014 1:21 PM

re: Exactly what I needed right now

The reason Christianity took off was that it was supported by military force- first the Roman empire, then various European kingdoms that succeeded the Roman empire.

Trey Haydon,
April 20, 2014 2:01 PM

Took off by force?

What year did Constantine make Christianity the official religion of the Eastern Roman Empire? I would disagree that "the reason Christianity took off was that it was supported by military force." That is not an accurate statement.

Anonymous,
July 30, 2015 6:05 PM

post it

Your whole articles were offensive to me. They were posted! Stop spreading lies like a plague. Don't lead more people to hell behind you!!!

Anonymous,
August 9, 2014 8:34 AM

Christian

I grew up Christian and yes it is very confusing even to Christians. There are many aspects of the Bible that contradicts itself and yes we do notice that. Even to the Priests and Pastors it's confusing and questioning them makes them very defensive and I must say a little angry. If you have questions that they can't answer they immediately tell you that Satan is the one putting these evil thoughts of doubt in our heads. We're told to forget those questions and pray. I'm no longer Christian now that I know that Christianity says that to be a true Christian you must believe that Jesus was born of a virgin and rose from the dead and accepting Jesus as the son of God is the only way into the Kingdom of Heaven when we die. That no matter the sins you committed or the way you live your entire life as long as you accept Jesus as the Messiah and son of God before you die then your soul will be saved. it doesn't even matter if you live a virtuous life or life of sin and evil. They say that Jesus will be the first we'll meet when we die and basically if we deny him he'll deny us to the Father. To me that puts Jesus before God which is against our very first commandment. It does not feel right. I have never had any christian be able to help me this question. That's why I'm seeking knowledge of another faith. I know that Christianity was derived from Judaism. They openly teach that Jesus was Jewish himself. I absolutely love the fact that Judaism teaches to ask questions. Where would we be as a human race if we didn't question to find truth? Don't feel alone in your confusion we're all confused to, and ask your instructor anything you may be confused about. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in that conversation.

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Justin,
January 14, 2014 3:25 AM

All That Was Written About Jesus Was 30 to 200 Years After He Died

Coming from a family background of preachers (three generations), I was raised with a very, very strong Christian background. The turning point for me was to learn that the all that was written about Jesus was done no less than 75 to 200 years after He died. That made me question the accuracy of what was written about Jesus. How could the quotes attributed to Jesus be accurate if the authors of "His words" were not present when he spoke?! Thus, how accurate is the New Testament? Realizing that we, as Christians, are taking one person's word (Jesus') on what revelations were said to Him shatters the foundation of the Christian "faith." I, too, have advanced in my journey to Judaism. Bottom line: I'll take a National revelation (Judaism) over one person's revelation for the truth!

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john,
December 28, 2013 3:50 AM

I'm very confused!!!!

I was raised Catholic and always wondered about the question we're all here wondering about. This page made so much sense its rattled me a lot! If there is anymore information I can get that is this straight forward please let me know. I think I should be a Jew ! Lol! Seriously this has made me open my eyes to the world . I will no longer be led blindly and believe what I'm told to just because I'm told to!!!

Steph-M,
December 30, 2013 6:14 AM

@John

Talk to a rabbi if you want guidance. I was raised Christian too, but I left because I am tired of getting the wool pulled over my eyes by people who can't even read the Jewish bible.

Pieter,
January 6, 2014 2:13 PM

I agree , it is the best to see a Rav. You can also visit Rabbi Tovia Singer. My wife and I dared to stand back and question the christion religion we were brought up in(66yrs).We are now converting to Judaism

Hans Schmidt,
July 30, 2015 6:00 PM

response

The Jews murdered Jesus is that ok? For all you confused people out there don't listen to this propaganda! They made a mistake and crucified Gods earthly form! That is why they denounce Him! To the people writing this article million will wake up in hell because of false teachings!

Shoshana-Jerusalem,
August 16, 2015 3:19 PM

learn your history

The Romans murdered J., not the Jews. The present pope as well as the previous one, acknowledged this and removed the claim of "diocide" from the Jews. Anyway, G-d is eternal, so how could he be killed?

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Rudy Lozano,
December 26, 2013 8:53 PM

the greatest deception

I grew up in a seventh day adventist house hold. My parents always lead me to follow all of Gods 10 commandments. Because they are His will and if we love God with all our hearts than we should keep His commandments. I have always struggled with the idea of jesus. And have always thought to myself...what if the romans decided to "create" a jesus in order to control the masses. We have all been in anticipation for the "return" of Gods son, but in fact he was really just a false prophet. With all good intentions like he seemed to have all the people followed. And now we've all been decieved. We are all awaiting an apocalypse....rather than trying to attempt to fix our dysfunctional government. We are allowing them to enslave us.

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joeymulvaney,
December 7, 2013 5:01 AM

wow.

For most of my life, i was raised to be a catholic/baptist. I took the best lessons from their teachings (as in loving everyone, no matter what they believe or what their social status) and i also have read about muslim, jewish, and morman beliefs. I had a lot of questions going into this page. It is very well written and easy for anyone who reads it to grasp. I definitely have a lot to think over now. I 100% believe in god. But i was always worried about the jesus question. Lets say he is the son of god.. well, i have nothing to worry about. But if not, and he is a false prophet.. well, would god punish those who didnt know any better? Would i be damned to hell for following something i have been taught since birth? That worries me. As i only want to please god. And for the time being nobody on either side can fully prove/disprove either's claim.. but i don't want to be punished for doing the wrong thing out of ignorance. This page was an eye opener. But it raised a lot of questions for me.
I am terrified i will be punished for making the wrong choice. I always held god on top in my beliefs.. but i want to get more info so i can find my own path. But i dont know when or if i can return to this page. Somebody please help me out. I just want to do what i should be doing. Thank you for reading this long comment. And i hope to get an educated individual on the subject to bombard with questions. As if i feel by the end of it that jewish beliefs are the right way to go.. then i will follow the turin (the best i can) and try to redeem my ignorance in the eyes of god. If not, then i suppose i will continue my search for "my" truth. Patience would be appreciated. And no, i am not the biased, finger pointing christian archetype. I am very open to new ideas. Thank you. :)

Dvirah,
December 23, 2013 5:35 PM

Be A Noahide

Relax...no one's going to hell, especially not someone who cares as much as you do. As you are a non-Jew, I recommend becoming a Noahide - a follower of the 7 commandments given to Noah & his family after the Flood. There are several Noahide websides; here is one of them: http://www.noahide.org.

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Dvirah,
November 19, 2013 7:30 PM

One More Reason

There is another very fundamental reason why Jews don't "believe in" Jesus. This is because at the heart of Judaism lies our relationship with G-d, and how can one have a relationship with an entity that one never directly confronts?An analogy: suppose you have lived in your parent's home for a long time and are on normal speaking terms with that parent. Now along someone comes and tells you that for whatever reason, you can no longer speak directly to your parent but must approach your parent only via a third party intermediary - even as that very morning you and your parent spoke as usual. Surely your reaction would be to laugh in that someone's face at such a ridiculous contention? Botton line: for everyone, but especially as a Jew, one should NEVER put anything or anyone between oneself and one's Creator. Direct relationship is what it's all about.

Anonymous,
January 13, 2014 4:57 AM

And furthermore...

It is important to note I think, that Moses, the greatest prophet of all, never told the Jews to follow him or to pray to him, but only to G-d. He never portrayed himself as a god. On the contrary, the Torah calls him 'servant of G-d' (the greatest of compliments) as well as 'the humblest man that ever lived'

Troy,
January 18, 2014 2:42 PM

Like a map

God loves all of us. Does it really matter which road you take to be with him ? will he not love you if the road you take to be with him is different from some one else . ? No i dont t think so . Love each other love GOD He loves you.

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earl stanfield, jr,
October 2, 2013 2:59 PM

enlightening

A wonderful exposition from a unique perspective. Thanks!

Lawrence,
October 6, 2013 3:08 PM

Excellant explanation of what I thought I knew, but didn't....

Great article.....and great comments....this is a 2000 year struggle for the truth.....that we continue on until we are all once again a unified nation....the real danger lies in Reform and Conservative Judaism, which teaches little and makes changes as they see fit.

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Rachel,
September 22, 2013 12:07 PM

Wow! That really does put a whole new light on what I've been taught as a Christian. Thank you. I shall continue to search for the real truth: this has really encouraged me.

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Kenan Moss,
September 6, 2013 2:59 PM

Thank you Rav Simmons

I am grateful for a succinct and forceful exposition. It will indeed be helpful to answer my Christian friends with courtesy.

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sandy,
September 1, 2013 4:57 PM

very informative

I reposted this article to my Facebook wall, where I have a wide group of friends, from evangelical Christians to Jews who reject religion and adopt a secular humanist approach. This article sparked a really interesting conversation. I am a "reform" Jew by political leaning, although more traditional in my ritual leanings (e.g. keep kosher), but my own theory is that I know that I am "choosing" to believe (in all sorts of things that cannot be proved). I don't think it matters very much whether you can or cannot prove any religion is "true." I think what matters is that most of these roads - whether my lapsed Jewish friends who have adopted a secular humanistic view, or my many religious friends - are paths to a more caring and moral approach to living in community. We are a varied people living on this planet, and we all need some moral rod to grasp. Wherever you find it, there you are! Any of these paths is better than being morally path-less. I have to say though, my grandparents were from a place and time where they did not question their Judaism because culture isolated them for it politically, and there was no denying it or getting away from it. Because of that, they did not realize they would need to teach their children "why" Judaism matters. By contrast, I saw my kids growing up in a mostly secular/Christian environment and realized it was just one of many choices on their menu, and that I'd have to explain to my children WHY I believed Judaism is valuable enough to hang onto in the face of many conflicting choices. Still not sure how all that will play out for them, but at least I made the effort.

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Anonymous,
August 24, 2013 8:49 AM

Great Information

Thank you for this explanation which has helped me understand many questions I have had mainly due to my curiosity of belief systems. I was raised as a very strict catholic but at the age of 35 became a Buddhist. I am very interested in people in general and believe that basicly it does not matter what your belief system is as long as you live a "clean" life. Not hurting, harming your fellow man and treating everyone as equal. All good religions are right in their own way. Anywhere a group of people can live freely and as one without hatred and sin, I feel that this is right. No-one should be condemned by others if their existance is peaceful and their actions harmless. We should all be working towards world peace for all living beings no matter what their orientation. Each person has to deal with their consciousness, and if they are happy with themselves so let it be. It is not up to us to judge another persons "soul".

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Brad Temple,
August 16, 2013 4:05 PM

Thanks for this!

This is great information and has answered my questions fully. I was raised a Christian, and this question has at times entered my mind; not because I think it's odd that Jews don't believe in Jesus, but it had always perked my curiosity considered Jesus was present there.

The reasons in this article make a lot of sense, and I'd like to think these reasons would make sense to all other Christians, too. Thanks again! I've always loved branching out to learn and understand the many religious views present in the world. Being single minded and ignoring all but your own seems like a sad way to be. Just because you understand another religion or culture doesn't mean you have to believe and follow it, after all.

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Arnold Woods,
August 11, 2013 6:36 PM

Why Jews shouldn't believe in Jesus? Why no one should believe in Jesus!

There's sufficient doubt, as reflected by our Talmudic era Rabbis, that Jesus never existed, so what is evident, is that hundreds of millions of people believe in smoke and mirrors; a religion created hundreds of years after Jesus purportedly lived and died, but witnessed by no one. No one knows for certain his day of birth and no one knows exactly when he died. Early Christians mixed their fading Judaism with Paganism and by the time they arrived in Rome, the center of Paganism, Constantine, the sentry of Paganism, had his own ideas of how to meld Christianity into his own image of Catholicism. I'm not really sure why AISH is spending so much time and effort explaining away a religion based on Pagan followings and a trivial amount of Torah, manipulated and changed to satisfy their confused hearts?

Ya'akov,
October 2, 2013 5:10 AM

Christianity is older than you think

Regardless of whether or not Jesus existed, we do know the approximate dates of the NT books being written. Christianity was definitely well underway in the 1st century CE.

Anonymous,
January 13, 2014 4:48 AM

See the opening paragraph to this article

The author states that this is one of the most common question Aish receives. That's why they "spend the tome and effort" explaining it.

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Reuven,
August 5, 2013 4:38 AM

why the hate from a religion that preaches love?

This is a great compilation of information. However, this will tend to inflame those whose beliefs may be challenged. Why should a religion that preaches love produce such hate for all those who do not bow to its tenets?

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Anonymous,
July 31, 2013 9:58 AM

No Love from Jesus' Followers

Our people have not suffered because they did not accept Jesus--they suffered from those who did.

(272)
Steve Masarsky,
July 29, 2013 2:07 PM

Going where?

Twice my son has been fortunate with the help of JAM ( Jewish Awareness Movement) and Aish, to go to Israel. upon his return he has been closer to Torah than ever. I recently was working at a place where two of my fellow employees referenced the Bible and Jesus. During a break and in front of others..this one older guy says out loud.."So you're going to hell because you don't believe in Jesus?" I was shocked as how another religion that "preaches peace" can ask such a question. All I could say is.."I don't think the Torah mentions a Hell" So he says Jesus id the Lord and you don't believe in him ...so you'll go to hell when you die.I responded that not only do Jews not share this lack of evidence, but a large number of other religions too! Wher are they headed?Thanks for the facts to help in my claim that Jesus is Not Lord. He was just as compassionate as you and I should be during a time in our world when men lacked the knowledge of the world around them and the universe beyond.

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Anonymous,
July 24, 2013 12:37 AM

Jesus' genealogy

I have never read anything like this before. I have to study the claims especially from Scripture. Thanks for sending this article along. I am going to print it in order to study and follow the scripture claims.

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Anonymous,
June 30, 2013 4:46 AM

It makes no Logical Sense

Many of the anti-semetic rhetoric says: Their religion hates Jews because the Jews killed their "G-d". Hello? If their G-d died - isn't it obvious he is not G-d. Abraham taught us that anything that has a weakness cannot be G-d. A man dies - thus he cannot be G-d. You don't need to know bible to figure this out.

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Anonymous,
June 30, 2013 4:41 AM

why would anyone want to?

After all the Pogroms, Inquisiton, auto-dafe, holocaust, blood-libels, terrorism, spewing-of-hate that the other religions -that believe in him - did against innocent people and Jews, how can any self-respecting Jew "convert" out of Judaism or marry someone that refuses to disown their non-jewish faith. isn't there guilt by association in Judaism?

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tanya.,
June 29, 2013 3:12 AM

this is serious

I'm just learning about this and it has me torn. But how can I not believe it. When it makes all the sense in the world thanks for the knowledge.

(267)
Amira,
June 22, 2013 2:36 AM

thanks!

The other day someone asked me why Jews didn't believe in Jesus, and when I couldn't answer that question, I felt that as a Jew I should research. So I looked up 'why Jews don't believe in Jesus' and this was the first option that came up and I'm glad i did. I was able to share the article with the non-jew and myself. The writing was insightful and sourced well! Thanks!

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Michelle,
June 17, 2013 4:07 AM

Thanks

Thanks for the clarification on the importance of national revelation. I'm not Jewish but this made sense.

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Anonymous,
June 5, 2013 4:15 PM

additional points re moshiach

Dear Rabbi Simmons, I occasionall have discussions with very knowledgable Christians who seem to be honestly seeking truth. I state what Israels Moshiach will accomplish, as you lead your article with, as pre-requesets to knowing who he is. Please clarify two other points that come up in these discussions: the concept of Moshiach ben Dovid and Moshiach ben Yosef (re:second coming) and Gen.6:6 reference to nephilim, fallen angles who cohabited with women and produced the giants. Also there are the angles (spritual beings) who took human form with Avraham Avinu and Simshon's parents.(re:"virgin" birth)

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Maxwell,
June 5, 2013 7:30 AM

Eye opener

Thanks for this spiritually educative article. As a Christian from birth, as i grew up, i began to question many Christian doctrines especially the one that uphold Jesus Christ as God. I don't believe that God would allow him be tempted and finally killed his creation. Christ never made this claim. I have been longing for true worship of God and thats why i stopped going to church to this day. Thanks for this eye opener.

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Denis MacEoin,
May 13, 2013 4:04 PM

Jesus was a Jew

I have always understood that Jesus was, first and foremost, a Jew. Far from his being non-observant, he made it clear he had not come to bypass the law and the prophets. After his death, the first Christian church was based in Jerusalem under his brother James, and all its members were observant Jews. They only dispersed after AD 70. It was Paul who introduced all the nonsense about Jesus being God, one third of a Trinity, being resurrected and so on. Understood properly, Jesus plays an important role in 2nd-temple Judaism, while the larger role is based on a fiction that became Christianity.

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Yehoshua Shiloni,
April 18, 2013 6:38 PM

Is there an elephant in the room without someone realizing it?

While everything that the good Rabbi is true, he as many rabbi's always seem to fall into the Missionary trap and that is to debate if Jesus was the Messiah or not. ALL of the above are valid, but the first and FOREMOST reason why jews do not believe in Jesus is because Christians believe that jesus is GOD! Judaism believes in a non-corporeal non divisible, Divine Being, Christianity does not, plain and simple case closed. Who needs to debate them on their 1001 out of context, false quotation "proofs" when all we need to know is that the Jewish tradition has always taught of an invisible and undivisible God. Even jesus believed it. Pagan Christianity adopted the "politically correct" Belief of the day and they have been trying to justify it for the past 2000 years. We should not make their lives easier but remind them that our Hebrew Bible has not have ANY Belief of that sort nor ever will. Any honest Christian reading the Bible will tell you the same thing. So the next time you come across someone interested in a religious "dialog", bring this point up and let THEM justify their pagan beliefs from some other religion and not Judaism.

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Anonymous,
April 18, 2013 3:09 AM

I wish to learn more about judaism,thanks!

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Anonymous,
April 15, 2013 5:20 AM

Jewish responsibility

It is my feeling as a orthodox layjew, so to speak, is that there is no real need (other than to maintain Jewish identity) to anticipate the coming of mashiach. Our responsibility as Jews is to bring the world closer to the messianic ideal. Regardless of the metaphysical reality of mashiach himself, the messianic age will not come about unless we Jews (and righteous gentiles) do our part to bring G-d's light into the world. Put in plain English, this means that we should observe Torah and attempt to emulate the chesed shebechesed (lovingkindness) of G-d (by doing good deeds, like helping the poor or disenfranchised...or whatever your contribution may be).
Revelation of the actual mashiach, to respond to one commentor, will naturally and nationally follow when he shows up. For, his showing up is really just a marker for olam haba, when all will know G-d and we will all be one people.

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Shana,
April 8, 2013 11:41 AM

Great Article

I grew up in a practicing Jew, but never fully understood Easter. Now that I live in the Bible belt it wasn't getting any easier to understand. This article put it in such an easy and simple way and cleared up a lot for me. Thank You!

Security Systems Atlanta-

(258)
Sarah B,
April 5, 2013 4:33 AM

Thak you!!

Thank you for this wonderful summation. Everyone should read this. Really should be taught in all religious schools. I can't believe I never heard this before!

(257)
Fred,
April 3, 2013 1:33 PM

How will the Jews really prove the real Mesiah?

One of the basic tenants that I have read is that the Mesiah will be a direct descendant of David. When that person, who is not devine ( i.e. from God) arrives how will someone trace his linage back to David?

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Thomas,
April 1, 2013 6:19 PM

Thank you for the information. It broadened by understanding greatly. Simple and easy to understand.

(255)
Susan,
March 31, 2013 7:03 AM

Wow! This is Incredible!

I've had so many questions about the Jewish beliefs my entire life &, growing up in a Southern Baptist church didn't seem to help the situation...I Wld ask but, never could get clear concise answers! Thanks so much for all of this info! I'm actually going to bookmark this pg on my phone to refer back to! I'm trying to find a pathway to God.. Now, maybe I can:)

Sarah,
April 5, 2013 4:36 AM

You should def bookmark it. Really is a great article

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Ed,
March 26, 2013 7:05 PM

I'm not Jewish but I think this is a great article. I wish every Christian became aware of the reasons why Jesus couldn'tt possibly have been the Jewish Messiah. Maybe they would start rethinking their beliefs.

^ The entire first CD set of Rabbi Sapirman's lectures on how we know our beliefs are true is now available online for free, as it's being sponsored.

nasia bat-naomi,
March 24, 2013 4:25 AM

Thank You

Everything i read just gave me a clear understaning about why we did not except JC as messiah bcause of the way we read the sedra if u dont read the whole old Testament u miss think. Now i converted to Judizum about 6 years ago but i converted from Islam so i have never thought of JC as A massiah. And because im African American Most Jews dont except us but truth be told im pretty sure the Israel Lites looked more like me so i pray that more calcation jews start to reconize that. My entire congrecation is African Americanhas been around for more then 50 years

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Anonymous,
March 3, 2013 5:56 AM

Why Jesus was not the Missiah

Thank you so much for this concise yet clear explanation, and the reading list. I am studying with the intention of converting in the future , and this helps to solidify my understanding of Judaism.
I especially appreciated the clarification with regards to Isaiah 53, and how Christians misinterpret this to be a prediction about the coming of "the messiah" i.e. Jesus. I always thought the theory was strange to say the least even though I come from a Christian background. Something about the Christian theory about Isaiah 53 just did not resonate with my own personal beliefs. Now I know why.

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James,
February 28, 2013 12:15 AM

Thank You

Prior to reading this article I was ignorant of Jewish beliefs. Thank you the article is very clear and informative.

Joyce Shulman,
March 15, 2013 5:50 PM

ignorance

I am Jewish and, I am ashamed to say,don't know very much about my own religion Your articles are a real treasure for me-and I thank you for them!

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brent,
February 14, 2013 3:52 AM

I was a Christian,but have been thinking a lot, I have many questions and seem to be agnostic at this time thank you for the information to help with some of those questions.

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scott,
January 28, 2013 10:53 AM

Who cares why Jews don't believe something?

Jews believe in things.
I recently corresponded with a Mennonite Minister (it's a Christian sect) on the meaning of the talmud and oral law. At the end of the correspondence he remarked that based on all the things that Jews believed, he felt that his own faith narrative was lacking.
I wasn't trying to convert the man, and I am assured that I did not. What I think he meant was that while his religion focuses almost entirely on their messiah and the afterlife he provides, messiah is (in my opinion) a very small part of Judaism. Moschiac will come when he comes and that will be a good thing. But until that day-and even after that day-Jews serve G*d. We do mitzvot and make the world a more godly through those actions. Moschiac will simply be a force multiplier for those efforts.
I find it sad that when we need to prepare some sort of responsa to Christian missionaries we start with what we don't believe in. What's wrong with their religion. That's not the issue. It's just not Jewish and we are Jews.
We should focus on what we do believe in. What we do. What we are taught to value. And on that basis, the faiths are incompatible.
After all, we don't proselytize. We're not winning souls for Judaism. We're simply trying to provide support for Jews that are targeted by missionaries and such. We'll be more effective if we focus on the positive aspects of our faith than the negative aspects of another. If we focus on involving our people in Jewish life then all other faiths become irrelevant.
They're not Jewish and we're Jews.

Sienna Jae Fein,
February 14, 2013 6:19 PM

Measuring Judaism by what we DO believe, not what we DON'T

Scott makes an important point -- that Jewish-Christian dialogue often begins with what Jews don't believe. Both religions have the same ethical base, so the divinity of Jesus is the most obvious and most dramatic place to start pinpointing differences.
In Christian terms, accepting Jesus as Lord is the pathway to eternal life, and reward in the afterlife is the foremost goal of the Christian. It is difficult for a Christian to imagine how a Jew can risk being denied entry to what Christians call heaven and Jews call olam ha ba.
Jews need to cultivate language and vocabulary to describe their beliefs in positive terms -- language that is neither adversarial or defensive, but full of the joy of accomplishment here on earth -- prayer, learning, community, family, mitzvot, tikun olam.

(248)
Pinchas Aloof,
January 14, 2013 4:52 PM

Judaic View of the Messiah

1, The Jewish Messiah will only be a human being with all the limitations of a human being.2, The Jewish Messiah will have a human father from the tribe of Judah, who will be a descendant of King David, and the Jewish people cannot accept the concept of a Deity that can descend to have an offspring with a woman. 3, The Jewish Messiah can never be worshipped as a man Deity, since this negates an essential principle of Judaism -- the unity of G-d. 4, The Jewish Messiah will not say he is above the Torah, but indicates that he is subject to the Torah. 5, The Jewish people can never be persecuted because of the Jewish Messiah and the terrible persecution that it has received, because of the Deity would of itself disqualify him from being the Jewish Messiah.

(247)
Sam,
January 9, 2013 10:44 PM

Food for thought

Like Donna, I consider myself to be a Christian but I have trouble with the new testament, especially Paul's writings. I am uncomfortable with some of the contradictions and cannot ignore them, as I have a very enquiring mind. I feel the need to question what I believe and you have provided a great starting point! Thank you.

Shmuley Anderson,
February 6, 2013 3:05 AM

The Christian Testament IS Full of Error!

A great book that covers a lot of the Christian Testament's mistakes is "26 Reasons Jews Don't Befieve In Jesus" It's an awesome book that frankly examines tons of the CT's errors.

(246)
Keith Waggoner,
January 9, 2013 2:54 AM

Comprehensive, yet succinct, elegant explanation!

I was raised a dubious Christian. I am currently converting to Judaism. Still,I have never heard such a marvelously cogent explanation for why Yeshua cannot be the Moshiach. Thank you, thank you!

(245)
Diane D'Angelo,
January 1, 2013 3:08 PM

I always wondered about this.

Thank you for an informative article.

(244)
Darline F,
December 23, 2012 12:43 PM

i found my way back .

I used to have a lot of concerns about Jesus as a meassiah, i went over and over the whole new testament , nothing can prove to me that he was and deep down into my heart i feel the need to wait for the real one.That why i decided to leave Christianity and to go home to judaism where my soul belong.learning to serve G-D with all my heart and not believe in a human being who performed miracles.Im haitian some people of birth land do a lot of miracles works as well using magik so that give me another good reason not to believe on them but HasHem the powerfull G-D.

henley,
January 15, 2013 2:45 AM

The arguments are very revealing ans compelling.

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Donna,
December 22, 2012 11:08 AM

Thought provoking.

I consider myself a christian, but have never been reluctant to question things! I do not believe in 'blind faith' and to be honest I have struggled with the new testament for a while . This piece is informative and interesting and will certainly encourage me to research more. A comprehensive explaination. Thank you!

Chris,
March 16, 2013 12:07 AM

Don't stop questioning!

Like you, I like to questions things, and it led me to quit believing in Jesus even though I was raised Christian. Something just didn't seem right or believable about him to me... I am going to try to find out more on here as I read all the articles and replies..

(242)
Joel F Peres,
December 21, 2012 5:37 AM

G'd is One

What an elegant & effective way to explain this. L'Chaim

(241)
Robert Joseph Hickle Grunewald,
December 19, 2012 11:27 AM

Thanks!

Now my eyes are wide open!

(240)
kaj williams,
December 13, 2012 12:28 PM

i wish every goy could read this site.its superb.mazel tof

(239)
karen,
December 8, 2012 12:46 AM

Amazing article. Sure makes sense to me. We have a blessed history. What is going on withthe rest of the world?

(238)
mike,
December 6, 2012 8:55 PM

interesting

I've been a lifelong nonbeliever of any faith, but reading this article has turned me on to further looking into Judaism. I've never been so sure about the big man in the sky, but this makes sense if there were one. Why would he not expose himself to all of his people instead of just a few "prophets", that never made sense to me about Christianity. Thank you for this great article and I look forward to learning more.

(237)
qwerty,
November 27, 2012 1:27 PM

hi

this is a good article

(236)
tevya,
November 18, 2012 5:21 PM

Messiah?...forget it.

If He aint come by now...forget it. Nice story though.

(235)
Anonymous,
November 18, 2012 5:15 PM

Reply to Christians

I am always amazed that otherwise intelligent and reasonable people can stare the truth in the face and still cling to their mistaken beliefs. Nothing in the Torah describes a virgin birth of the Messiah.
Torah: Isaiah 7:14 “...Behold, the young woman will become pregnant and bear a son, and you will name him Immanuel.” Isaiah is talking to King Ahaz and refers to a young woman in their presence, and King Ahaz will name the future child Immanuel. This woman and child cannot be Mary and Jesus, because King Ahaz and Isaiah lived more than 700 years before Mary and Jesus lived. King Ahaz would have to be resurrected in order to name the child. And, Mary and Joseph named their first born son Yehoshua, not Immanuel. Further, the prophecy would do King Ahaz no good if he were dead before it came true.
New American Bible Revised Edition 2008: Isaiah 7:14 “...the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel.” In the Catholic Bible, the young woman is already pregnant and in the presence of Isaiah and King Ahaz, as the sentence is in the present tense. This woman and child cannot be Mary and Jesus because this scene occurred more than 700 years before Mary and Jesus lived.
God refers to his “first born son” in Exodus and that “son” is the Hebrew nation. Exodus 4:22,23 “You shall say to Pharaoh, ‘So said Hashem, My firstborn son is Israel. So I say to you, send out My son that he may serve Me.’”
Last, but not least, God gives us instructions on how to save ourselves (without an intermediary such as Jesus): Isaiah 43:11 “I, only I, am Hashem, and there is no deliverer aside from Me.” See Ezekiel 18:21-32 on how to be forgiven by God.
On the second coming? Did not your Jesus come a second time when he was supposedly resurrected and appeared to his followers? That was his second coming and he still did not complete any prophecy. And, he seemed to have come a third time for Mormons when he supposedly appeared to Joseph Smith.

(234)
Peter,
November 18, 2012 3:08 PM

I son't understand about "prophecy"

” Prophecy can only exist in Israel when the land is inhabited by a majority of world Jewry, a situation which has not existed since 300 BCE”
I don't understand why this is so. Can someone lead me to a reference that further explains this concept?

Vlad Seder,
November 26, 2012 6:58 AM

Jewish concept of prophesy

Jewish concept of communication with G-d is always communal - even today certain daily prayers could be said only with quorum of ten adult male Jews. Such a major communication as prophesy requires majority of the people to be present - and it requires unity of the people. So the prophesy is from the people, by the people, for the people - a prophet himself/herself is just a mouthpiece G-d selects for the transmission. While prophesy does require the people to be in the land of Israel, there were some exceptions - like Moses and Daniel, who prophesied while they were with the majority of the people outside of Israel.

(233)
cdave,
November 18, 2012 3:05 PM

hmmm

nice explanation there, but i will always believe that jesus is the messiah, and in the bible, the second coming of christ was stated in revelation..

suri katz,
November 20, 2012 5:07 PM

"nice" explanation?

How witnesses were there to the start of Christianity?

esty,
November 20, 2012 9:26 PM

cdave, thats ok, nobody is trying to convince you otherwise.

Cdave, thats ok. Nobody is trying to convince you otherwise. The rabbi is just explaining, why we dont believe in Jesus. We believe hes a prophet just hes not the messiah.
As long as you are a good person and follow the 10 commandments all is well :).
Jews are born jews for a reason. I am actually a convert bt obviously had a spark in me that gnawed away until I decided to convert

rivka,
January 25, 2015 6:03 PM

no esty

jews do not believe jes. was a phrophet. we do not believe any such thing!

(232)
Marcos-A Barros,
November 15, 2012 11:24 PM

One day I felt I was a Jew in my heart...

You start finding things out little by little. I consulted with rabbis, read books, re-interpreted the Torah and the Halaha, attended services at the nearest Schul and rearranged my thoughts and beliefs accordingly. Simple as tha

(231)
lizzie4,
October 31, 2012 11:17 AM

the more I learn the better although it gets harder and harder

(230)
seba,
October 10, 2012 7:22 PM

yup

""Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4)"
based on that, and history of Christian crusades, witch hunts, etc Jesus looks more like antichrist than a messiah lol

Christian,
November 17, 2012 7:31 AM

Please read new testament

If you read the new testament of Bible, you can see the great forgiveness that Jesus showed to the people who crucified him. He was praying for those who were hurting him. The true followers of Jesus show the same love and compassion to others. Reading the new testament gives me the strength to forgive others and to lead a peaceful life.

Anonymous,
November 18, 2012 6:22 AM

You just don't get it.

An entire, detailed explanation of why Jews don't accept JC as Messiah and you still want us to read the NT? You can't argue facts, and the facts are JC yes was a Jew, but nothing more.

(229)
mig,
October 6, 2012 6:09 PM

nutbox44@yahoo.co.uk

Thank you for this, i learned a lot today..

(228)
Linda Darnell,
September 24, 2012 11:47 AM

Why don't all Jews return to Isreal?

If it is a condition for the Messsiah to come, why aren't Jews returning to Isreal?

Iminbitulzone,
November 28, 2012 5:19 PM

It doesn't say...

... that this is a pre-condition for him to come in the first place. Just that this is one of his accomplishments fter he comes.

(227)
Rivka,
July 21, 2012 2:18 AM

Spot On!

I basically need to memorize this entire article in order to tell my family why I'm embracing my Jewish heritage instead of pretending to be Christian. All my family members know they're Jewish (both sides, oddly enough) but they've been fearful to acknowledge it publicly and only speak Yiddish in whispers. So I don't predict too much opposition but at least if someone actually believes in Jesus as the Messiah, I will know how to respond! Thanks!

(226)
allen,
July 5, 2012 9:14 PM

believe in the Lord

Learn from the prophecies. do not dwell or choose who is wrong or right. we are all Gods servants and children. you shall not worry but praise and be thankful everyday.

Anonymous,
November 15, 2012 12:45 PM

We are not all of God's

We are not all God's children. God wants us all to be saved but a lot of people chose to live life as they wanted and not heed God's will on how to live our lives. God's children are those people who do deeds that are truly God's. Those who involve themselves to lies and violence can never be called God's children

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Anonymous,
May 23, 2012 11:37 PM

Never looked at it that way…

I was born and raised as a Lutheran Christian, and my faith was confirmed last spring. Going through confirmation, I was always told that Jesus was the messiah, I never was told about these qualifications. Also, the idea that God would tell everyone about a messiah, and not just one person. I don't know if I'd be willing to give up my Christian faith quite yet, but it was very interesting to look at some other beliefs. I may switch to Judaism eventually.

michael swanger,
June 14, 2012 6:04 PM

noachide

Once you realize jesus 1. never existed 2.even if he did he did not fulfill the messiah qualifications, you have to decide this: will I go to a christian church and believe the lie and worship an idol;or will you seek out hudaism and convert;or will you look into becoming a noachide and affiliate with a jewish synagogue as a gentile. I also had to deal with this.I am a noachide now,I wait for the true messiah, and i attend a jewish synagogue but they know I am a gentile.If I were young I would attempt to convert.But I have several cancers and time is--??

(224)
Anonymous,
May 17, 2012 4:24 AM

Moshiach is coming!

Many Christians will be perplexed when the Messiah comes, I wonder what they will do and how they will behave when Israel has its Messiah. He will rebuild the temple, re-institute the daily obligations, etc, etc, and I just wonder how much support they will offer when their real Messiah comes!

(223)
Anonymous,
May 17, 2012 4:18 AM

Torah

Leila, you want to read the Torah? I'm sure you have if you have already read the bible like you say; the Torah is merely the first five books of the bibliography of books that have been labeled by Christians as the "holy bible".
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy equals the Torah.
I also noticed you claim your grandmother never "swore". Did you mean used profane language or swore as in swearing by attesting to something in high regard, like swearing or giving the oath to tell the truth?
As far as your grandmother never breaking any of the ten commandments; that's not the sign of someone being Jewish. The 10 commandments are something that unite all peoples by knowing that those commandments are fundamental rules that all humans regard as a common law through both nature and God.
The guilt is record of the Law written upon the hearts of mankind. Heart being soul. I'm sure your grandmother had to have at least lied, etc, as all mankind is sinful and not even your grandmother can boast of being perfect.
Okay I'm done ranting. Nice story though, many people in the United States are Jewish and have no idea of their lineage because through secrecy and then ignorance it was shelved.
It means very little without the Spirit moving and calling upon the person to wake up to their "religion".
Good luck in your adventures!
kk

(222)
Anonymous,
May 13, 2012 6:23 PM

Historical Evidence of Jesus?

It should be noted that the first historical mention of Jesus is 100 years after his alleged birth. Not one writer or historian who would be a contemporary of Jesus ever mentions his existence.

(221)
Me,
May 3, 2012 3:21 PM

I agree with somethings but not with others I would think that God with all the power that the Jews attribute to him could take in any form...

Anonymous,
May 24, 2012 4:31 AM

that would be degrading to God because He isnt physical or mortal and cant be confined to a lowly human being. at the times that He appeared to the Jews, it was in the form of a cloud so that they can "see" Him.

(220)
shmuel,
May 1, 2012 11:12 AM

Judaism is the only way to go,we've bn fooled 4long.Am converting soon 2Judaism.Judaism is all about facts no tricks and no games like christianity/islamic.

(219)
Leila,
April 26, 2012 1:56 AM

The Messiah

I was told just before my maternal grandmother passed away that we are Jewish. I had not heard much about Judaism before this and therefore was shocked when she told me. I had at that time been thinking of converting to catholicism because I was unsatisfied with my religion as taught when I was growing up, mostly by my fathers side of the family and that was Southern Baptist, not that it was bad, my grandmother never wore pants, she never swore and never broke any of the ten commandments that I am aware of. As I have been researching the religion of my mother's side of the family, some of them were not practicing Judaism either, though I am afraid that that had to do with how Jews are treated in certain areas, I have managed to discover that jesus is not mentioned anywhere in the Old Testament, there is however a mention of a virgin birth, I think it's in Isaiah, that says that a virgin will give birth and his name will be Immanuel. I read it and re-read it and I saw no where in the chapter it was mentioned in where G-d changed his mind and said "Oh, maybe it could be jesus or well you know maybe Immanuel means jesus, as a matter of fact he didn't appear to stutter at all. I therefore take the F-ther at his word, because he it the all knowing and the One and Only Eternal F-ther. The more I read on Judaism the more I wonder how I could have missed so much while reading the bible when I was younger. I would love to get my hands on a Torah and would love to learn the hebrew language. Most of my family denies our Jewish heritage anyway. I sure would love to see Israel. Shalom

Anonymous,
November 28, 2012 5:24 PM

It's All Ignorance

We've been weaned from our heritage as a result of the tragic vicissitudes of history. GO LEARN!

(218)
Ellie,
April 5, 2012 11:24 PM

THIS ARTICLE IS AWESOME

(217)
Anonymous,
March 26, 2012 2:30 AM

Thank you for posting this article. Just what I was looking for. I was brought up as a Christian and never thought I'd doubt Christianity. But I am at a place in my life where I doubt what I have always believed. I can't explain to others why I doubt Jesus is the so called only way to G-d, as well as why I doubt Christianity, but this article helps somewhat. I am in a hard place because everyone around me including family is Christian. I cannot explain to them why I feel the way I do but I do feel Christianity is wrong for me! I feel like an outcast because of the way I feel. But something inside of me KNOWS what I have always believed is wrong yet I cannot explain why I feel the way I do or prove that. But back to your article, thank you for sharing! I pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and may G-d bless you, keep you, and show His Chosen One's His favor! Thank you (Toda?) Shalom!
CA (USA)

Gretchen,
April 8, 2012 11:06 AM

I feel the exact same way you do.

Tomas,
April 10, 2012 6:13 PM

Persevere !

You are reminding me of my own past wrestling with Christianity, to which religion I had been firstly coerced and later manipulated by my Roman Catholic parents and which religion I found only to be humiliating, frustrating and guilt-tripping. I won't give the details of the whole story because they would make up a complete novel, but let me say that I took a a pretty long and dramatic spiritual journey, which reached a happy ending where I embraced Judaism and committed myself to be a Noahide. Don't give up!! Study anything from the treasure of the Jewish tradition that you feel to speak to your heart at this very moment (you need to carefully consider which texts you need most at this moment, as you won't be able to read everything), make use of the fact that a very large variety of Judaica books is available to you from web-based bookstores and visit regularly aish.com as well as other authentic Jewish websites (one of my very favourites is http://www.thetrugmans.com/). In the end you will discover that there are strikingly genuine, deep and beautiful things in Judaism which you would never find in Christianity. Accept the fact that your family may frown at you and never let their disapproval discourage you or influence you in any way.
Shalom !!!

(216)
Anonymous,
March 19, 2012 5:04 PM

The Jewish reason for Jesus not being the messiah is good enough to me.

I appreciate the jewish people for educating so called christians on the sciptures of the bible about the messiah. Thank you!

(215)
Shelly,
February 23, 2012 7:44 AM

Nikolai, When Moses appointed Joshua to be his successor, Moses a Levite laying hands on a non-Levite to take his place? Joshua the 13th tribe, referring to the Tribe of Levi, since Moses was a Levite. Joshua was listed with Ephraim's tribe (under the title of Joseph's tribe). Tribal adoption? There was not a piece of land assigned to Joseph's tribe under Joseph's name in the land of Israel. Same as Levi. The only two sons that weren't. The Tribe of Levi was still a tribe, Levi was a son of Jacob (Israel) and that would make the tribe of Levi the 13th tribe. However, Moses the Levite appoints Joshua to stand in his place as a Levite, as the leader, leading all the tribes of Israel into Canaan. Ephraim and Manasseh replaced the names of Joseph and Levi in the line up of Jacob's children of the 12 tribes.(exchanged). Ephraim (Joshua) was exchanged for Joseph. Levites took the place of the firstborn, though each tribe the firstborn was to be dedicated to G-d for his service, a Levite would be sent in the place of the birth of the firstborn for the other 12 Tribes. Manasseh takes the place of Levi in the line up. For G-d said the Levites were not to be counted in the census.

(214)
Nikolai Petrovich Krakpotzky,
February 15, 2012 12:17 AM

"Second Coming"? Yeah. "The check is in the mail."

Shelly (210) comment is rambling, verging on incoherent:
"Joseph ... had no children"? What? He had two: Ephraim and Menasseh.
"Joshua would had to been an adopted son, .. got in exchange for selling Joseph into slavery. Joshua tribe(13th)" Again What? Joshua wasn't until generations later, and never a "tribe".
Anyway, that isn't what I wanted to talk about.
What I want to talk about is the "Second Coming".
The name I have for that is: "The check is in the mail."
I hope no further explanation is needed...

(213)
Helena Spirin Whitington,
February 14, 2012 5:06 AM

Make Sense

(212)
Anonymous,
January 22, 2012 9:27 PM

It was very rewarding having read this article.I learnt a lot through this lecture, and I thank G´d for the oportunity I had to find it.

(211)
Ben,
January 15, 2012 2:55 PM

Shmuely Boteach and his new Kosher Jesis book

Many non-traditional Jewish spokesmen have at times found a need to connect with the majority population by at least saying Jesis was a "rabbi". Classical Judaism stands for Truth without compromise and never allowed a feeling to "connect" (assimilate) by emracing Jesis in anyway. Sadly popularity seeking "Rabbi Boteach" who was a former "spiritual guide" of Michael Jackson and advisor to Al Sharpton and publisher of Kosher Sex , he is also a colunnist in Jerusalem Post and elsewhere and now also wants to run for British Chief Rabbi (G-d help us) His book on Amazon , when clicking on it for the introduction, appears to present him as a "Jewish patriot" against Rome who was a regular "Orthodox Jew". The book cover was a drawing of him with his pierced hand. Based on the New Testament of course (JOhn and elsewhere) he says he is god and a son of god and messiah wrapped in one. For a true presentation of Jewish views Rabbi Kaplans "Jewish Response to Missionaries" and Ben Solomon's "Vda Mah SheTashiv" also on Amazon.com are more accurate and non-betraying of Jewish Tradition.

(210)
Shelly,
January 12, 2012 4:12 AM

You know, there are all these great men of G-d in the Tanach, and none of them qualified as being the mashiach. Tough position to get and to keep if you do have most of these qualifications, by the way doesn't change they were great men of G-d and that they did great things. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon. But none were "it." Judah, wasn't it, but one of his descendant's will be. I wonder about that. #2 B, should it be mention it needs to be the firstborn and the firstborn being a male child. Replacements have occurred from firstborn to another birth order for Kohen, however, it has been stated why the replacement had taken place in the Tanach, and as we know, they weren't the mashiach. How the mashiach would be from the tribe of Judah and not the tribe of Aaron, over the Golden Calf incident. You had mention tribal passes through the father. If a man adopts a firstborn male child into his already having children, the adopted child isn't a firstborn in the adopted family. No children in the family, he still wouldn't be the firstborn male child of the adopted father, for the child is not his own firstborn. Joseph, as I see in the Torah had no children listed. Joseph did "adopt" the other 10 tribes, one tribe being combined into one. Joshua wasn't one of Jacob's sons, would had to been an adopted son, as I see the one they got in exchange for selling Joseph into slavery. Joshua tribe(13th) becomes one of Joseph's tribe. The ten tribes becoming one under the leadership and under the title of Joseph's tribe, through a form of tribal adoption, leaves the two tribes of Israel N and S, now present day, combined as one. Priest, Prophet, and King is a tall order to fill. The mashiach has to come from the tribe of Judah, today Israel is not divided, but one, we are one tribe now right? Is it about location? (S?) {When the majority of Jewry live in Israel again, prophesy will return} we sure do need an undate. Waiting......

(209)
Carol-Lynn Fillet,
December 18, 2011 4:54 PM

Stimulating and good to see We are not looking 2 convert.

A very certain illustration of the power of the Jewish nation of those time. Oh those great Macabees.

(208)
Hayden G,
December 4, 2011 7:54 PM

Thanks for this article it's actually really informative. I was kind of actually looking for the opposite as in why do catholics/christians believe in jesus in the first place but this was still very helpful. My great grandparents were jewish and after that my grandparents discouraged it because they believed it was important to keep there relatives from possibly believing they were superior/inferior as so many people do today. Speaking of this i'd like to also say I appreciate no one writing anything offensive and disrespectful about how us jews or non-believers are going to He LL. This was something I expected to be inevitable given so many believers think this about non-believers.

(207)
Mordechai Siegal,
December 4, 2011 5:04 PM

beautiful point!!

(206)
Anonymous,
November 13, 2011 1:07 PM

Helpful and Succinct

I once again appreciated something well written from the Aish.com web site. Thank you for a clear, succinct and helpful article. I was just disappointed that it wasn't a bit more clear that Judaism is not looking for non-Jews to convert in order to bring the Massiah. This was perfect "to love all humanity generously" It would have been better to mention the " Noahite laws for non-Jews and as was written for the Jews. Thank you and keep up the wonderful work at Aish.

(205)
LAUREN,
November 1, 2011 7:21 AM

thaxxx!!

great thankyou needed good infomation for a religion assignment!

(204)
Yocheved,
October 30, 2011 7:42 PM

Why we don' believe in Jesus - very informative

Thank you for this very informative lesson. I grew up in a non-religious household, and took myself off to church when I was thirteen years old. I never found Christianity easy to believe in. It wasn't until my two daughters converted to Judaism many years later, that I started to look in that direction.
Then everything fell into place, I studied in Manchester and completed studies here, and was finally accepted and converted in 2008. I will be sending your lesson to my very 'Born Again' Christian brother in the hope that it may answer some of his own questions.
Again, many thanks.

anon,
November 4, 2011 6:15 PM

thank YOU for sharing;

thank YOU for sharing;

(203)
Helen,
October 28, 2011 12:10 AM

re: Former X-ian

I am an ex-Christian. Was brought up Catholic and converted to Fundamental Christianity in 1988 after being evangelised by so called well-meaning X-ian. Until 2 years ago is when God opened my eyes to the truth of Torah. I am now a Noahide who is learning about the Seven Laws of Noah and how much He loves all of humanity. Concerning X-anity I did not study for myself to find out the truth. We were just told to believe what they told us as the Scriptures were the infalliable Word of God and therefore had to be the truth. We believed that until I found out the New Testament had many errors and many things taken from the Tanach were taken out of context . The truth shocked me at first but one has to ha ve an open mind and praise God I did . After studying Judaism one realises how duped I was to believe in this J . person. Unfortunately,. my husband still believes in J. but doesn't attend church but he does not at present have an open mind and just thinks I have gone of the rails and he says he's the only one left (our sons are not Christians) and that our household is a X-ain one but I privately declare to Hasem that our family is not an X-ian one. We were so brainwashed by X-ianity and I thank Hashem for setting me from it.

(202)
Anne,
October 6, 2011 11:32 AM

Very enlightening

As a Catholic, I've struggled with many aspects of Christianity for years. Especially with Catholic doctrine. I appreciate this explanation, especially since it clarifies the Jewish position on Jesus while not disparaging non-Jews.
I found this website in the most roundabout of ways, through a link to the Rosh Hashanah video on membase.com (a humor website), of all places. :)

(201)
sawbonz,
October 2, 2011 3:05 PM

thank you

As a gentile, but with a lifelong passion for Judaism and it's study, I am often asked seemingly simple questions (about Judaic beliefs) by other gentiles that I cannot confidently answer with authority. The author has made a confident and emminently knowledgable explanation that I intend to share with non-Jews asking this common question. It helps all of us of ANY faith to understand the truth about Messianic beliefs.
I wish that more educated and easily comprehended explanations were so readily available and also offered by religious leaders outside the Jewish faith. I do not criticize the differing beliefs of others, only hoping for an educated and informed point of view on their behalf. Here in the US, there are frighteningly huge numbers of people who "believe" Jesus is the Messiah ONLY because that is what they have been told, NOT because they actually examined all the scripture before (and after) and made an informed decision personally. True Biblical scholars are rare in the Christian Church, as most are self proclaimed "experts" and interpret readings within subjective prejudices. I have found many credible scholars within the more "formal" Christian denominations, such as The Church of England (Anglican or Episcopal versions,) many intellectual Catholic priests, many Lutherans, and Presbyterians and some Methodists and Methodist- Episcopal leaders (certainly not all clergy in all mentioned faiths, however.) The most eccentric and unschooled beliefs come from the radical "Fundamentalists," and I personally believe that these self proclaimed prophets and "pastors" are no different than self-appointed idols themselves. They inspire true fear within me. Most are interested in power and money, and too easily find willing flocks, and these followers are, to me, eerily similar to radical sects of other faiths that often seedand nuture terrorism.
Thank you, Rabbi. A wonderful lesson.

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John Robertson,
September 26, 2011 12:20 PM

gesus is a tragic lie.

I was a Xian by birth although my family never practiced any faith they said they were protestants .I went to church trying to find G-d .But many years later I walked into a Synogogue and all my questions were answered in time.So now I practice being an observant Noachide with Rabinical guidance and feel free of the myths I took for granted as a xian .BARUCH HASHEM
twenty years ago my journey started and I am at peace .

Roberto,
October 30, 2011 6:32 PM

Gospels fictional accounts written to convert Jews

The problem with that claim which some Jewish apologist say is Why writers of such "fiction"(Gospels) allowed themselves to be martyred for their faith in a Messiah who was a product of their own fiction.

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Elisabeth Soros,
September 26, 2011 2:40 AM

We must inform continously the people the of the Truth., People would understand the Judaism well and clPlease, keep up the early.Lots of jews do not know this- - unfortunately!

Anonymous,
October 2, 2011 7:37 PM

"the Truth" is the problem

Why is our view the truth? This is exactly what gets us ALL in trouble. We need to educate on Jewish beliefs, and be respectful of others. How do you know their way is not the "truth"? We can agree to disagree. As long as it does not include violence, we need to learn and understand.

(198)
maryann ackerson,
September 25, 2011 8:08 PM

i am not jewish and found this article extremely interesting and informative. Thank you. Maryann

(197)
Ben S,
September 18, 2011 2:46 PM

actually Why Would People Believe in Jesus should be the question

To ask why Jews dont believe in Jesis is to assume it seems elementary to believe in him.
Indeed the question is how can an independent thinking person believe a man killed over 2000 yeara ago can be a three way combination of Messiah, god and son of god all at the same time. However excellent books on the subject can be found on Amazon.com search for Vda Mah Shetashiv by Ben Solomon or the Jewish Response to Missionaries by Aryeh Kaplan

(196)
Ashleigh,
July 29, 2011 10:16 PM

Maimonides devotes much of the "Guide for the Perplexed" to the fundamental idea that God is incorporeal, meaning that He assumes no physical form. God is Eternal, above time. He is Infinite, beyond space. He cannot be born, and cannot die. Saying that God assumes human form makes God small, diminishing both His unity and His divinity. As the Torah says: "God is not a mortal" (Numbers 23:19). Koran ref ( chapter 112) This is exactly what the muslim Koran says as well. I am amazed of the similarity of Judaism and Islaam. we all belong to one God, to Whom we shall all return.

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Raquel de Almeida,
July 28, 2011 9:43 AM

WOW!!

This is one of the best debunking of the Christian myth about the whole messiah thing. I am speechless. I will pass it on to friends.
Thanks for that,

(194)
German,
June 16, 2011 6:34 PM

Simply the truth.

Thanks for the clear cut explanation of the facts. I hope that G-d will inspire each of us with clarity and understanding and also with courage to follow with the light G-d has shown us.

(193)
stephanie,
May 24, 2011 2:14 AM

i believe this to be correct

i am more inclined to believe this over christianity. it makes more snese. but who am i to judge.

(192)
Anonymous,
May 17, 2011 2:58 AM

Septuagint

I believe the Septuagint is responsible for translating alma into the Greek word parthenos for virgin. For those unaware, the Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek in the 3rd century BCE.

(191)
Andrew,
April 13, 2011 5:51 PM

Book suggestion

For Johan van der Westhuizen, I would recommend that he read "Grounds of Christianity Examined" by George Bethune English.
The book is available free on-line and takes a point-by-point approach of the type that he requests.
Inasmuch as George English was himself a Protestant cleric, he does not take a Catholic view of the issue.
And English does not use the Talmud in his analysis of the problems found within the New Testament.
English though does reach a similar result in this book, albeit with a great deal more depth and analysis than this short article.

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Mary,
April 12, 2011 12:17 AM

:-)

I think this is a great article. Though I am a Christian I don't believe what was written in it. I would never argue with a Jewish person about it because I understand completely why they believe what they believe. I consider myself a friend of Isreal and I'm not worried one bit about their salvation God said they are his chosen people and he would save them. So though we believe different starting with the new testiment I still love them and admire the fact my savior came from them though they are not ready to accept that thats fine because I know in the end they are going to be just fine :-)

Duncan,
May 9, 2011 3:52 PM

Jesus the savior?

you refer to Jesus as "your savior". Was Jesus the Messiah? It is interesting that so many Christians profess their faith to be the one true faith when it is clear that much of the Bibles that Christians read contain misprints and misrepresentations from the original source text. ie Moses never parted the Red Sea; he parted the Reed Sea. Mary was never called a "virgin" in the original hebrew text; she was only referred to as "a young woman". I have read and studied the Bible and it is amazing that so many people that have never read the Bible are unaware of numerous verses in the Bible that indicate that Jesus Christ is not the Messiah. The Messiah has to be a descendant of David; that is required of the Messiah and Joseph follows David's lineage but Jesus was immaculately conceived (meaning not of Joseph and not of David's bloodline). Also, Jesus did not fulfill the prophecies of the Messiah and there is no mention of the 2nd coming of the Messiah in the Hebrew text. That is something that Christians made up. It is amazing that so many Christians claim their religing to be the "correct" religion and all other religions are incorrect when most Christians have never bothered to read the Bible and the few that have read the Bible are not even aware of the numerous liberties that the translator took with his/her translation of the original Hebrew text. In spite of these errors and blatant attempts on the part of the translater to "steer" Christianity into the direction that he/she wanted it to go, Christians accept these errors and embellishments as truth.

Yaakov,
May 27, 2011 6:29 AM

Duncan, I agree fully

Duncan, I couldn't agree more. I don't understand Mary's reasoning, I think for her, there seems to be 2 "salvation programs". If Mary studied what was mentioned in the article, she would (if she would be honest) come to the exact same conclusion. Be that as it may, we'll pray for Mary & the rest of them so their eyes be opened and they'll see the truth.

Pamela,
June 12, 2011 2:48 PM

Mary

Mary, you should ask yourself, why billions of people , in the last 2,000 years , haave been slaughterd in the name of the Christian messah, it is written that when the Messah comes there will be peace in the world, now more killing and hatred of each other, which has happened over the last 2,000 years, so I am sorry for you, but We are waiting for the True Messah , please G-D bring the Mashiach now, then there will be peace around the world.

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Anonymous,
April 11, 2011 1:56 AM

Thank you I needed to know the facts. I knew in my heart this was true already.

We supersticious Christians need more Hebrew teaching, I love it.

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Anonymous,
April 10, 2011 3:48 PM

He's a God?

I always found it easy not to believe in Jesus as a "messiah". After all when did the messiah actually be God Himself? The idea of a messiah came from the Torah. The Torah certainly never alludes to the Messiah as being God or the son of God, or both. I don't think Jesus ever thought that he was starting a new religion.In fact, it was much later, with Paul that really got Christianity rolling. And I doubt Christians are bothered by the Davids lineage. They could easily just figure that the Jewish Bible got that part wrong. But I'm here discussing why I don't believe in Jesus NOT why Christians do or could.

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Anonymous,
April 8, 2011 11:43 PM

Learning is cool.

I've always wondered why the Jews never believed in Jesus and the author sounds quite firm on his/her beliefs. We all want to believe in something and that is a right that comes with free will of human kind. Jewish people shouldn't be persecuted for their faith as well as other believers of different religions. I hate the fact that so many false prophets come who confuse believers. It's good to learn about other peoples' beliefs and cultures; I find it fascinating to compare and contrast beliefs. Rabbi, I believe your implication is quite logical but conversion is a major step out of the ordinary. I hope my faith pays off. If you are correct, I find it baffling that the "Messiah" would take so long with countless people dying. What is the Jewish belief on the afterlife.

anonymous,
April 14, 2011 4:59 PM

conversion is not required or even encouraged

check into the bnai noach, children of noah, the torah tradition says that G-d gave laws for gentiles as well, no conversion necessary. Good luck!

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Johan van der Westhuizen,
April 5, 2011 6:17 AM

Jesus and Judaism

I respect the Jewish faith and I believe that Israel is God's chosen people. I however also believe in Jesus Christ. It is clear from your article that you spend more time in the commentaries of men and the Talmud which was written by men than the Word of GOD (which most Christians are also guilty of). If you want to refute Christianity you will have to point to scripture in the Torah and point to the so called errors in the Bible, rather than pointing to a sect, cult within Christianity. I do not need to point out that Catholocism is not Christian, but Mary worship. I agree that miracles done prove anything. Ironically, you are expecting the Messiah's coming any day now in the same way Christians await the return of Christ. I will investigate your lineage claims. (Nope, I am not so full of myself that I am above learning... will I be able to say the same about you Rabbi, or does the title supercede everything else?) I need to apologise for my comment being laced with sarcasm, but I see it daily, that men called by God raise themselves on such a pedestal of self-praise and stature that they become fools that cannot learn anything.

Lucinda,
April 6, 2011 7:51 PM

Johan, I think that your intention was not to learn anything from this article. You say that you aren't above learning but thud points that Jewish people raise about Jesus are quite valid. You may want to reread this article with an open mind. Th pots made do come from Torah. Also I'm tired of Christians making the point that the other things that Jewish people read to learn from are "written by man". What do you think the new testament is, if not written by man (or about 20 different men at least 300 years after the supposed death of Jesus). Just the argument that he couldn't have been considered a descendant from the House of David is enough to have made me question my "faith" in him. This isn't the article that did it for me, but the argument was great enough for me to never consider myself a christian again. Now the only thing left to do is consider conversion. The points that you are looking or are in the Torah, if that's what you need. But they will never be good enough if you don't really, truly want to consider them with an open mind.

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Danielle,
March 28, 2011 7:36 PM

Cool!

This is awesome.

(184)
Meir,
March 11, 2011 12:26 AM

Wise convert....

I am so glad this article was written (seemingly just for me). After 33 years as a Christian, I found my way home to Judaism. After the fact, I learned my great-grandmother was Jewish. Thank you for the re-affirmation for those of us who have came full circle.
Toda Raba

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Bessie A. Welsh,
February 21, 2011 5:06 PM

Christian Missionaries

Growing up I was always a target by christian missionaries. Classmates, friends, boyfriends, former husband. I didn't see it that way when I was young, as a target, but people befriending me and inviting me to go to their church or church social functions. It was a part of their lives, and being in relationship with them, they were including me. God protected me through those childhood years, closing my ears so I wouldn't pick up on christian teaching. By mid to late twenties, I started to study christianity and their doctrine off and on. This helps to keep christian missionaries far from me now, from making me a target. I also knew how to answer them. I spent a year in Israel, using the knowledge I had gained, also through experience, to help Jews to know how to deal with christian missionaries. There are shortcuts, link that shows in article, Jews for Judaism, however I found it better to know what to say, not by someone else's study, though we came to the same conclusions. Learning formulas is what christian missionaries learn, the depth of knowledge is only in the formula verses that they memorize. The school of Hillel, made a point of studying their opponents' positions, not just viewpoints with which they already agreed. The school of Shammai, studied only one side. When they were in error, therefore, they were unlikely to self-correct, since they didn't expose themselves to opposing views. The School of Hillel's way of arguing was not only more "kindly and humble," it also led to greater accuracy and truth. Christian missionaries are doing what someone tells them to do, when confronted by them, I know their pastor told them to invite people in. Israel on the other hand needs to be protected, to remain a Jewish State, as they should, and has a right to. And Jews have the right to be Jewish, and protected to remain that way. Converts are such a huge help as counter-missionaries, they have been on the other-side, glad you found your way home!

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Shelly (Esther) Altenburg,
February 20, 2011 8:27 PM

agreed~

I'm a convert from Christianity to Judaism and I completely identify with this article. The older I got, the more I became aware that Jesus and the new testament in general seemed....not right to me.I grew up trying to be a good Christian but ultimately left. I was angry about the conflicts it caused in me and dabbled in Wicca for awhile before discovering that I could actually convert to Judaism (I never thought I could). I finally came home.

(181)
,
February 16, 2011 6:38 PM

World Peace

Well, it's not just Jews that don't believe in JC. I know plenty of people who are not Jews who do not believe JC was or is the messiah. When the Middle East is in a time of peace, that will be a messianic era that was prophesied. When all traces of paganism is done away with, it will open the door for the ability of G-d only. That will take the effort of the 3 major religions. The inception of the messiah in Judaism is reasonable, for the reason that it's not based on someone who lived and died to come back to create peace in the Middle East. It's all about the Middle East, when they get into peace, the whole world will experience that peace, spells out: World Peace.

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Inez M. Dunker (Rachael),
February 8, 2011 4:56 PM

Thank You!

Two or three days ago family members came to my house, being as hospital as I could, doing everything I to make them comfortable. Being as kind as spossible with a good heart. They came at me like wolves telling me I was going to go to hell because I am Jewish, I said many of the things which were written on this page but not all. I don't believe this was a coinsidence I landed on this, but a true blessing to inform me about the many things I was attacked about. I learned so much and have a better understanding. Even telling them these things may not satisfy them, but I am truly more capable of answering with better knowledge. This will definately Burst their Bubble. Hopefully they will understand as I have.
This was not a coinsidence, but a wonderful message just for me, from blessed people as yourselves.
I said to them that religion will be left out in our descussions when they come and visit otherwise they need not come again, I was not going to go through again, not in my home or anywhere else.
Thank you so very much!!!
G~d bless you all!
Rachael

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Gloria Ilan,
February 4, 2011 4:48 AM

I appreciate all this information. I am very Jewish but there are still questions. You answered several. Thank you.

(178)
Kim Fisher,
January 27, 2011 3:44 AM

Got my answer

Googled this question and it brought me here. I'm shocked, stunned by what I read, however, I know in my heart the scriptures had been twisted to make it sound like J was the one. The dream of an evangelical christian is to witness to a Jew. After reading this and thinking about it, I respect the Jewish people and the covenant that God made with you all, now I know that there is no reason or purpose to share what I have, Jews are right in God's eyes because of the eternal covenant. I'm thankful I never evangelized a Jew before, I'll continue with those that are not Jews. Jews have sound good reason not to believe in Jesus, it's my religion that does. We were not given an eternal covenant by God, that can't be taken away. Jews have their ministry with Jews, my ministry is with gentiles and only gentiles, giving up the dream of witnessing to Jews now. The shocker of reading this, the words will always be with me now. God had lead me here for a purpose, for myself to discover the answer to this question, also to search deeper for I do not want to lead anyone astray. I will have to look into righteous gentile.

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Anonymous,
January 26, 2011 9:16 PM

this is great

can someone who has been raised as a christian be truly recognized as a Jew? ,if they convert.or will they always be on the sideline ,watching. every thing you have said makes since to me, not just intellectually but spiritually as well. thank you

Anonymous,
May 29, 2011 4:33 PM

definitely!

not only are converts completely recognized as Jews, but we are commanded to love them and make them feel welcome. I always admire converts and go out of my way to be friendly to them because I know it is hard for them to start a new way of life, especially when they are rejected by their family or friends. converts are really special Jews because they made the decision to be Jewish and they bring a real inspiration to us who were born Jewish, to feel as strong a commitment to Judaism as they do.

Adam,
September 28, 2012 5:03 PM

My ex-wife converted....

...and I was clearly advised that from the moment she becomes a Jew, no reference should EVER be made to the fact that she converted. She is to be considered a Jew like any other Jew. And in fact, it is contrary to Jewish law to consider a fellow Jew anything else. In Judaism, the sincerity of the convert is dealt with prior ot the conversion. Once the convert becomes Jewish, all references to the conversion are wrong.

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Elana,
January 26, 2011 5:30 PM

very informative, would like more follow up

thank you for this well written and informative piece. I would be interested in reading a response from a Christian scholar on this to learn that perspective.

(175)
Leila,
January 26, 2011 2:56 PM

book suggestion

We recently read a very good book about this called "You Take Jesus, I'll Take God- how to refute Christian Missionaries" - I would recommend it to anyone wanting to have clear answers to questions about the Bible and Christian doctorine.

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Anonymous,
January 15, 2011 9:05 PM

Well written!

While I am a non-theist altogether, I came across this site, and I have to say that I am very impressed by the rationality behind these points and how well they are written.

(173)
Natalie Mamann,
January 9, 2011 1:38 AM

I'm sending this on!

This is one of the most pragmatic, logical and clear explanations I have ever heard to the questions of Jesus. Thank you. I will pass this on to at least 20 people who have asked these questions, or to Jews who would not be able to respond to these questions.

(172)
Anonymous,
January 9, 2011 1:37 AM

Why I converted

Thank you, thank you, thank you for that concise explanation of why Jews do not accept Jesus as messiah. I converted to Judaism after being raised in a Christian community. When people ask why I converted, I say something simple about "beliefs." But your response brought back so many memories of all the questions I had begun to ask myself even in childhood! And eventually the answers led me to Judaism. Thanks again.

(171)
Bob Burg,
January 9, 2011 1:36 AM

important response

Thank you for your kind, tactful, and informative response. In reaching out to our Christian friends (to educate, not convert) it is so important that we do so with the lovingkindess that embodies our Jewish nation.

(170)
Anonymous,
January 5, 2011 7:05 PM

Tibbits

When you know the basics of Judaism, you will find within Christianity how they copied from Judaism. Examples: Judaism, prior to Christianity ever existed, had the cleansing bath. Christianity, copied from Judaism and Christianized it known as baptism. Rome, wanted what Jerusalem had. To obtained that, they destroyed the 2nd Temple, copying many Jewish customs and Roman(izing) it to set up a world religion in Rome with the intent to replace the Temple they had destroyed. The Roman text that is made up of scholarly works edited and reworked, taken from common writings mostly written down by slaves who made copies of writings to distribute. Writings with a wide differences of opinions or accounts of what took place in the past, came through word of mouth spoken several years before anything was written down. The final works having aggressive authority of Rome. The background of learning you have will determine how you take the Roman text. Knowing basics of Judaism can help in separating key misunderstood words that have been taken literally. When descriptive words and metaphors were used. Jesus saying "the Father and I are one" Judaism uses the same descriptive words when male and female are joined in marriage they become one. Eve had said it was through Hashem how she bore a child. Referring to his help how she and Adam had a child. The Roman text took that literally and copied as Mary was conceived not by a man. Copying from Judaism was wrote in the Roman text: Jesus was born without sin; a Jewish precept for all Jews, however, coated to sound like Jesus was and ever will be the only person ever to be born without sin. The Roman text says that no person can keep all the law is why you need Jesus. When the 2nd Temple was destroyed, half of the law which concerns the Temple laws don't have to be kept since we have no Temple(just common sense). The Roman text comes across as something New when they copied and changed things from Judaism.

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Bea,
January 4, 2011 6:44 PM

To JMK, (June 21, 2010)

Jesus did exist. Although the "New Testament" is most probably completely falsified, the Talmud does cite Jesus (calling him "Yeshu Hanotzri" or "He whose name should be erased, from Nazareth") as being a wayward student of the great sages of the Talmud (Rabbi Joshua ben Perachia), stating that this "Yeshu" eventually became an apostate. The Talmud also states that the Romans put him to death.

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Natalie Mamann,
January 2, 2011 2:11 PM

pragmatic, logical and clea

This is one of the most pragmatic, logical and clear explanations I have ever heard to the questions of Jesus. Thank you. I will pass this on to at least 20 people who have asked these questions, or to Jews who would not be able to respond to these questions.

(167)
lassop,
January 2, 2011 2:10 PM

raised in a Christian communit

Thank you, thank you, thank you for that concise explanation of why Jews do not accept Jesus as messiah. I converted to Judaism after being raised in a Christian community. When people ask why I converted, I say something simple about "beliefs." But your article brought back so many memories of all the questions I had begun to ask myself even in childhood! And eventually the answers led me to Judaism.

(166)
Bob Burg,
January 2, 2011 2:09 PM

kind, tactful, and informative

Thank you for your kind, tactful, and informative response. In reaching out to our Christian friends (to educate, not convert) it is so important that we do so with the lovingkindess that embodies our Jewish nation. Thanks again.

(165)
Bobby5000,
December 25, 2010 3:31 PM

Analysis not belief, individualism not adherence

Why Jews don't "believe" in Jesus, the question suggests the answer.
1. Judaism is a religion of study and analysis. Jews study the Torah, explanatory texts and trying to understand particular passages and relating them to their lives. In contrast, Christianity is largely a religion of faith and belief. A Christian does not try to understand how Jesus rose from the dead or turned water into wine. Faith plays a central role.
2. A religion of men not deities Judaism permits indeed requires careful study. In contrast, many Christian denominations would suggest too many questions involve an unhealth cynicism. The term gospel means a group of words that one treats as true. St. Paul reshaped Catholicism providing certain core beliefs in the Nicene Creed, but there is no comparable Jewish doctrine. While Maimonedes propounded a set of core beliefs about G-d and Judaism, Jews study it and selectively accept parts.
Even Moshe was punished when he implicitly suggested that he had the power to create miracles.
3. Those this is a religion of individual self-fulfillment. Not surprisingly, many Jews have used the skills of education, study, and analysis to achieve success professionally. There are probably more Noble Prize and other prize winners in Israel than Egytt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries or even the
group combined.

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Anonymous,
December 9, 2010 12:52 PM

Regarding Messiah from Joseph

A reader commented the article should have mentioned that a messiah from Joseph is also in Tradition and should have been mentioned. Firstly that Messiah is not the Messiah from King David that will usher in the Messianic era under Hashems rule.
Secondly the New Testament goes through strains to say Jesis is decended from King David on his mothers husbands side (while maintaing he is not from his mothers husband) Thirdly a first messiah from Joseph (as in the son of Rachel, Jacob's wife) is irrelevant to this article. A great book on this matter is V'da Mah SheTashiv available on Amazon.com

(163)
L Page,
December 5, 2010 5:19 PM

The Chosen

From the time of Abraham and down through the ages the Jews have been God's 'Chosen Peoples'. From my readings of the scriptures and the Apocrypha several covenants were made for these 'Chosen' and i can find nothing in any of them, or any historical text, which would negate or amend those bonds. The opprobrious crimes, committed against these 'Chosen' cannot be vilified or excused, nor should they.
It is offensive, to state the obvious, that the 'Chosen' must continue to defend a way of life, a belief, and a homeland that is theirs, by right.

(162)
Anonymous,
December 5, 2010 2:39 PM

Will the real Messiah please stand up!

I was delighted to find this explanation of why Yidden don't accept Jesus as the Messiah. However, my in my humble understanding, I learned (according to Jewish tradition) that the Messiah will emerge thru the line of King David... or the line of Joseph. Why was the latter not mentioned in this article? If I am meant to trust the contents of this article, I would appreciate the inclusion of all pertinent information.

(161)
Carrol Pugh,
November 14, 2010 3:26 AM

Now I understand who the true Messiah is. Thanks.

I enjoined this site. It has answered the question I had for along time. I thank you for the message.

(160)
Anonymous,
November 10, 2010 6:45 PM

thanks for explaining irrelevancy of cristian arguments about Jesus as a profet and as a god.

(159)
J LaLone,
November 9, 2010 11:42 PM

Thank you....I will print this one

Rabbi, I have been reading your articles for years. All are amazing, but this one I especially like. This question Christians ask so often, or worse yet, they get arrogant in attitude by my lack of believing as they do, even severing our friendship because I am different. I don't go around putting down their beliefs, but just the fact that I don't share their's, which they believe to be the absolute and most precise truth, offends them. It is a comfort to have a more a intellectual explanation, rather than my knowledge of the bare essentials of the facts, and my own strong intuitive intelligence. Thanks again!

(158)
Anonymous,
October 20, 2010 8:38 PM

Much needed topic of discussion

Your composition helps to explain to non-Jews who can not possible reason why Jews couldn't believe in Jesus who they believe in whole heartily. By using scriptures to help explain the biblical reason behind it. Non-Jews can understand it wasn't that Jews rejected their messiah and the non-Jews didn't reject him, as is so often told or explained why Jews don't believe in Jesus. No different than if someone told a christian Jesus is here or there, you are not to believe that and go seeking after that. No different than if a man stood in the pulpit and said he was Jesus in the flesh, you know he will not do it that way according to the christian teaching. This is no different for the Jews, who have a whole Bible speaking on the subject to not believe if someone stands in the pulpit and proclaim he is God. Your composition helps and informs us to know, and we have scriptures, that helps us to identify what qualities the person who will lead the world into the presence of God. You have notified others to not believe in the false prophets that arise claiming they are The Messiah. You may not be that popular for this essay, however, you have explained it well that Jews past and present need to know the scriptures so they will not be deceived. Thank you for having courage to speak on the topic. It's been a topic that has been dodged in speaking of openly for a very long time.

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mysterious egghead,
September 2, 2010 2:55 PM

This is a great website !

(156)
Anonymous,
August 23, 2010 2:35 PM

correction

To my post 154, It was Joshua, I mistakenly had put Joseph.

(155)
Anonymous,
August 22, 2010 7:33 PM

Wisdom and Truth's Are Hard things to understand..

My return to Jewish Belief,Has not been hard,in fact It has been Easy.Once,I Stopped blind believing, and just started thinking

(154)
Anonymous,
August 22, 2010 5:55 PM

Women have a major role in Jewish History

What I like about Judaism is that women are also credited. The book of Esther and other women in the Tanakh were used by God to bring salvation to others. A woman can not be a Priest as the role of a Priest, but a woman by birth can be a Cohen and married to a Priest. Women can be prophets (Deborah) and a woman can not be a King, but she can be a Queen (Esther). Women played a major role within the continuation of the salvation of the Jewish people. And didn't have to die to do this. Rahab saved the Jewish people and helped them to enter the Promise Land. Our Jewish History, women themselves, brought salvation to others through their obedience to God and through their righteous acts and deeds. And not just through there children. Rahab's deeds brought salvation to the Jewish people before any conception of children occurred. Rahab's conversion, marrying Joseph and giving birth to 9 Prophets afterwards was a continuation of the salvation of the Jewish people. The christian bible does not use women in their story bringing salvation to others. It is a mans world and only one MAN can save them. A Queen, a Prophetess, an ordinary woman can be anointed by God to save the Jewish people. Awesome!

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Anonymous,
July 15, 2010 10:14 AM

Free book worth reading

A book on a closely related topic is "Grounds of Christianity Examined" by the early 19th century American scholar George Bethune English.
Although very densely written, the arguments that he makes are many of those you make, although he makes many others as well.
The book is available free online [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/15968] and is well worth studying carefully for those interested in the issues that he raises.

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,
July 6, 2010 11:12 PM

This is a very interesting and informative article. Thank you for putting so excellently what I have thought about and believed. I did not have all the required historical background, but I know that the true prophet is still to come and will be for all to know the real Messiah. Thank you Rabbi Simmons because I can always rely on you to give concise, well thought out proof as well as educated opinion. I look forward to more articles. Kathy

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Frances Schwartzwald,
July 1, 2010 7:22 PM

Excellent article

Thanks very much for this clear exposition. Your article is a "keeper," for sure!

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K,
June 21, 2010 1:04 PM

student of spirituality, religion and mythology

Thank you for such clear explanation. Although I'm not religious, I'm very interested in the origen of some of today's religion, as wella as classical spirituality. Your words have clearify to me why most Jews could not idenitfy Jesus as the Messiah. I wish many Chrisitians would read them, to create understanding and respect among different beleifs,

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JMK,
June 21, 2010 2:37 AM

Jesus never existed. The New Testament is fiction.

It is a disgrace for a Rabbi or for any Jew to accept Christian history and theology as anything but fiction, forgery, fabrication.

Tali,
September 22, 2011 2:05 PM

Jesus did exist

Jesus was a real person. The Talmud even mentions him. Jews accept that he was a figure in history, but not that he was the Messiah or divine in any way.

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John D. Miller,
June 6, 2010 3:03 PM

Thanks

Thanks indeed for explaining so clearly what is the Jewish thinking for me a non Jew and a Christian of 30 years.

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paul Gertz,
June 5, 2010 4:46 AM

pager25@earthlink.net

It would help clarity if you would have mentioned the
Septuagint, the tramslation of the Old Testament into Greek, that was the source thae the Disciples and later Christians used to explain and justify the divinity of Jesus.
To paraphrase St Auginstine, if Jesus is not the Son of God
then we all should have become Jews.

Anonymous,
December 31, 2014 4:51 PM

Today's Septuagint is a product of Xtianity and it contains the "OT"

The real Septuagint was only the Torah. Thus your statement is not true. Your quote fo Auginstine is irrelevant since he was a Xtian. Every person on this eath was a son or daughter of G-d, so that is irrelevant. In fact G-d tells Pharoah that Israel is His firstborn son.

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Theo M,
June 4, 2010 3:24 PM

Timely

Such a clear explication and so necessary in our time Thank you Shraga and keep up all your good work You are a true son of Israel May the moshiach for whom we yearn come soon Surely all the portents are there already

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Angelika,
June 4, 2010 2:47 PM

G-d is One

I enjoyed reading this informative article and the few comments by readers below; I have previously read A. Kaplan's book re. The Messiah. I was born into the Christian (Catholic) faith and have, as an adult, studied comparative religion and philosophy and science. No doubt, humans have the inborn need to find meaning in life, explanations about the cosmos and their place in it. It can be a difficult journey for man and beast alike! Based on my own spirituality, which I call inter-faith (and which therefore includes the faith of the atheists), I would say I believe in the Jewish concept of "tikkun" ; we should all contribute to the healing of ourselves and of the world. This entails "teshuva" or "metanoia"--a turning of our innermost being, the heart, towards the Source of all Goodness and Love; also, it enjoins us all to "love the Lord and our neighbour as ourselves". How is this message different than Buddha's to grow toward Enlightenment by practising Universal Compassion toward all creation? Or the Sufi message? etc. etc. Yes, the paths are many, but G-d is One, and as we ascend toward the perfection of the One, the Unity of Being, and hear the Word of Life spoken to our hearts individually, no mere religion --no matter how logical, rational it may be as opposed to fabricated (a binary that is not really supportable since all religions have been created by human minds)--can save us. Blessings to all seekers!

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Anonymous,
June 3, 2010 6:16 PM

#142 Abraham you nailed it

Secular Jews can look at Christianity through rose colored glasses. However whether Jew or non Jew, everyone in Christianity gets baptized or joins a church out of emotions, not intellect. You basically have to be a scholar to know what Christianity is really all about before you take the plunge. If you have ever looked over Sunday School lessons for kids, they use the events in the Hebrew Bible for their stories. How is a 5, 10, 12, or 17 yr old can know what Christianity really teaches when they are using our Bible to teach from. Even in adult conversion classes which may last a few weeks to up to a year, once again you don't get all the facts before making that commitment to Christianity. Jews that do convert, they may have had some Jewish learning, but not enough to know what they are getting into is wrong for them. I read through the liturgy of the Mass in a Missal, there is so much back and forth in it, enough to confuse anyone to what Christianity really teaches. If you don't believe what Christianity teaches in their doctrine of faith, then how can someone call themselves a christian. You can think that you are, till you find out what it's all about. Then you find out, you never were one, even when you thought you were. Then you high tail it out of there. I disagree with some of #143, the Jews are not to blame. If Gentiles who are against what Judaism is all about, but wants to be a part of it for God only knows why, to withhold them from becoming Jews is just what has kept Judaism here today. In Judaism you have to spend several years in study before conversion is made. Past the honeymoon high, so what you are about to do is an intellectual decision, tested and tried, and not based off of emotions. #141, true it is fiction, however there are some one liners in the christian bible that are taken from the Hebrew Bible. On teaching as love your neighbor, or teaching on purity, and doing charity, that is not fiction. I get your point, true.

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Ahuvah,
June 3, 2010 10:35 AM

Its not Jesus the Jews fault

Thank you for this piece of work. first i would like to say that we should feel sorry for people who are being brainwashed, they are only searching for G-d. it seems to me that humans were created to search for the meaning of life, maybe when G-d created us He left a space within us so he could come and fill it up with himself. Everyone wants G-d. It is just so sad that we as Jews did not do what the Christians/Muslims do....welcome coverts into our religion, maybe if we had opened our arms to the gentiles all this would never have taken place... We need to live up to our mandate "Become a light to the Nations"... Israel won't even let a person who converts in a Liberal community enter the land.. Where are we as Jews going wrong..this is the million shekel question...Dont blame Jesus ...blame ourselves. Jesus didnt do any of this the gentiles and mighty Rome/Greece are the culprits.. Long live TORAH and Am Israel

Anonymous,
January 25, 2015 6:54 PM

WHAT ?

You are not making sense here. what ? The jewish religion does have conversion, and accepts people who go through the rules and learning necessary to become jewish halachically. not exactly why you are feeling sorry for anyone.

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Abraham,
June 1, 2010 3:29 PM

Jews Converting to Christianity

I have come accross several Jews that have converted to Christianity and, without exception, they are totally ignorant of the Jewish religion. It is so easy to believe in a person that cures blindness and other illnesses and died so that you can eat pork and don't have to circumcise your son. We know that Jesus, if he ever existed, was presented by his followers as a man with god-like powers. But any person with some knowledge who reads the Christian bible is never convinced. We must do more to reach those Jews that are drifting away from our religion into what is clearly a cult.

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JMK,
May 28, 2010 11:01 PM

Correct but you wrongly assume Jesus existed and that the New Test. is more than fiction.

Jews do not and should not necessarily accept Christianity on the basis of Judaism but on Christianity's inherent many failures that point to its being complete fiction, complete fabrication. It simply is not true, nothing inside it is true. It is a shame that Rabbis wo are supposed to protect and lead Jews are so poorly educated in this area and as Jews so weak and afraid.

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Jose Lazar,
May 1, 2010 11:38 PM

There is a path for righteous gentiles in Torah

I am 36 now. I was born a Catholic as most Filipinos were. I converted to one of the so-called Christian churches before I finished college. I really believed then that if one is not a member of that church (Church of Christ) one is entirely lost; destined for eternal damnation (read torture, yes Christians teach their god tortures people for not believing Jesus -- a clearly pagan concept). I started to doubt the claims of the church I belonged when I married wife who came from another Christian denomination. My church insisted that she should rebaptize because her prior baptism officiated by the church came from are not valid and hence she is not saved. It was funny, though for these Christians to say that as just looking at the attitude and way of life of these people and compare to the attitude of my wife, one can clearly see who is naught or who is nice as would say that. We left this church and joined a similar church who has a more liberal doctrines. After a year of fellowshipping with this new church. I read an article by Rabbi Tovi'a Singer about why Jews don't believe in Jesus. Then I also came across with a book by George Bethune English at Gutenberg Project which rejects the claims of Christianity. I also discovered about the B'nei Noach. A week ago I officially left the church and start to travel the path for the righteous gentiles. I also shared the English's book a Christian family and the father after reading the book decided also to leave the church and join the path prescribed by Torah for the G-d fearing gentiles. I know, if Christian will only care to examine carefully the claims of the New Testament, they too will without a doubt the the pious fraud that is Christianity. HaShem bless the Jewish people and also the children of Noah.

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Yonasan,
April 21, 2010 5:11 PM

Not a Kosher sacrifice

In the Torah, you have the laws concerning what makes a sacrifice valid or Kosher. Man has neither split hoof nor chews the cud. There is no Torah Law that makes man a Valid sacrifice. This means that Jesus was not Kosher for sacrifice. His sacrifice is Not Valid! If it is not valid, then it has no value concerning Judaism. That is reason enough not to believe in JC.

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yehudit,
April 20, 2010 6:34 PM

NO MORE "NEW" TESTAMENT

I agree with the comment about the so called "NEW" Testament. Aish should pave the way in finding a new term for it since the very name is an insult to Torah. Just as Arabs have successfully won the "name war" in Israel and the media, so have the Christians succeeded in subtly putting down the TRUE Testament.
From now on, no more NEW. Yes, call it the Christian Testament.

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Anonymous,
April 15, 2010 5:17 PM

Let's clarify Repent

Jews do not accept any writing that was only written in Greek as being the inspired word of God. It doesn't mean we haven't ever read them. However, they don't get canonized as scripture, because they are perceived to had not been written by the Jewish people. Some books, later in dout, fell out of canonization. Judaism is the only religion that their roots didn't spring forth from paganism. Jews were not pagans, then became Jews. The Hebrew people on Mt Sinia, were all given revelation of God, they were all in one accord in knowing God existed. That nation of people all believed in God. After that, did they always stay on that path? At times, they swayed from it. The Prophets were always calling them, those that had fallen away, to repent. In Judaism, repent means to turn back to God. Whether it was because they had went after false gods, or gotten complacent, or weren't trusting in God. This wasn't what the Hebrew people had experienced on Mt Sinia as a nation. The Good News is, if one has swayed, they can repent and return to God. God's arms are always opened wide to receive us back. His mercies are new every morning and his love everlasting. This is why, as you explained it, once a Jew, always a Jew, because we can always repent and return back to God. We have the history of the Jewish people recorded in scriptures, there shortcomings, their failures and their returns. May they always speak to us and encourage us on our journey.

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Dvorah,
April 15, 2010 8:47 AM

Andy is right - a Jew is always a Jew (by nationality)

The halacha couldn't be clearer: "Yehudi mumar, yehudi hu" (an Apostate Jew is still a Jew" (as, BTW, are the children of an apostate Jewish mother). Of course, though an apostate has all the obligations of a Jew, there are certain privileges s/he won't be given as long as s/he remains an apostate (e.g., an aliyah and by law albeit rarely if ever enforced, the right to citizenship under the Right of Return)).
I think the specific heightened concern re Jewish apostates who espouse Christianity is the fact that they claim to be "Messianic Jews" and "Jews for Jesus"-- i.e., in fact observing the "true" or "perfected" Judaism -- and try to pull in naive Jews on that basis. Just as the first Christians (and Jesus himself) were in fact Jews by nationality does NOT mean that the new religion they created was Jewish or a legitimate form of Judaism.
And this is where the confusion comes in: yes, a Jew espousing Christianity is a Jew (and thus, e.g., he need not convert to Judaism if he repents), but the religion he espouses is NOT Judaism, and that must remain clear.

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Andy,
April 7, 2010 8:55 PM

I dont understand

They live in Israel, they bleed and die in the IDF - they would have been murdered next to other Jews. Why do you say a Jew who believes in Jesus is no longer a Jew? A jew who disowns god is still a jew. A jew who becomes a muslim is still a jew - but not one who believs in Jesus? Stupid

Anonymous,
January 25, 2015 7:02 PM

really , you dont understand?

this is what this article is about. re read it. jewish people only believe in ONE g-d and ONE gd only.

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juliekabouli,
April 4, 2010 3:30 AM

There is no hell or original sin in Judaism, so no need for Jesus

Not sure if anyone mentioned this already, but the absolute and foundational belief in hell and the chiseled definition of original sin in Christianity do not exist in Judaism and never have. Jews do not have a vengeful G*d that damns people to hell nor do they believe that the first sin or Adam and Ava needs to be washed off of every new born baby's soul. The movie Defending Your Life from the 80s is a pretty good rendition of the Jewish version of the afterlife. As for the first sin it was a challenge to humanity to work to undo these curses. When men do not have to toil in work just to survive and women are not second class citizens whose sexuality rules and torments them then the messiah will come. We have to get the world to that point first though. This idea of people bringing the messiah by perfecting the world is not found in Christianity. Quakers and many others have the Tikkun Olam part down, but it has nothing to do with bringing the messiah. Jews just don't need Jesus, plain and simple.

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Dori,
March 31, 2010 1:58 PM

There is no 'NT'.

From a Jewish perspective there is no 'New' Testament, which would imply that the 'Old' one has been superseded.
Unless I missed something, there has not been another Revelation since Sinai.
A value-neutral description would be Christian and Hebrew Bibles or Scripture.
Of course the Christian Bible incorporates some books of the Hebrew Bible but, famously, some of the meanings have been changed (as mentioned in R Simmons's article).

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Anonymous,
March 25, 2010 5:00 PM

Pastor Bob:

National prophecy came about on Mt. Sinia. When Moses gave them the 10 Commandments to the nation of the Hebrew people. When Moses gave them the words of G-d that was spoken to him. When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek, there wasn't much variation. The example of Is. 7:14 it's when the christians translated into English uses the word virgin instead. We can not confuse the differences between translated into Greek from Hebrew and translated into English from Greek. The Greek word that was translated into English in the NT "Rapture" in the Greek it means exulted emtions. Totally a different meaning than christians have taught. Example: The Left Behind series. I have never heard that the leader of the Essences was known as being a Prophet. They had seen the Prophets were done with. Explaining that the Tanakh was finished. Meaning the words of Prophesying was finished. We grow in revelation of what has already been written. That there wasn't going to be another book written, another Torah, this Torah was complete. The Dead Sea Scolls isn't a new book, a different book. It verifies the Tanakh that we have. About that the Messiah wasn't suppose to die, that was a gentile interpretation of the Hebrew scriptures. It isn't an accurate interpretation. Pastor Bob do you know why the NT was written in Greek and never was written in Hebrew? It wasn't translated into Greek from Hebrew, because it never was written in Hebrew first. The people that were known to had written these letters were Jews, so why wasn't it written in Hebrew if written by Jews? Paul and Luke being gentiles, that would explain their books, but what about the rest of it?

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Pastor Bob,
March 21, 2010 6:46 AM

Prophecy in Jesus' day, the Torah and NT history

A few comments:
1. I would raise one point concerning prophecy: In the early 1st Century there were a variety of views about prophecy. The writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls believed their leader was a prophet. So I would ask when the decision about national prophecy came about. I appreciate that the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls were not part of mainline Judaism but there were a bunch of other Jewish groups at that time.
2. 129 There is a great deal of debate about which texts in the NT were written first. There is general agreement that Paul's letters were written first, (or at least most of them) then James (debate about this) Mark in its final form, etc. I have read no expert who argues that Jude was early.
3. One of the problems with following any possible changes in the OT text is that the the pre Masorite texts are sparse. If you look at the Dead Sea Scrolls you see there is much less attention to accuracy in the Biblical Scrolls that in the Masoretic text. In the Dead Sea Scrolls there are cross outs, notes written off to the side which sometimes are a missed line and sometimes a comment on the text. Curiously the Dead Sea Scrolls read closer to the LXX than the Masoretic text. I would agree that accuracy in the NT came later than the Massorites. Nevertheless the Massoritic text was put in its final form with brilliant ways of ensuring that all following text would be the same, beginning in the 6th Century BCE.
Rabbi Simmons I think you left out a reason for Jews to reject Jesus as the Messiah. The Messiah was not supposed to die!

Anonymous,
December 31, 2014 5:09 PM

Misunderstanding and misleading documentation

Your comment, " the Dead Sea Scrolls read closer to the LXX than the Masoretic text" is absoulutely false. The Jewish LXX (no comment on the Xtian one) is a translation and even the word for Torah in it is not exactly Torah. "Anomos" does not mean "Torah." One was given by Zeus, the other by YHVH. The Dead Sea Torah and the Mesoretic text should be almost if not exaclty the same except for vowels and punctuation marks which are not found in the Torah. The Dead Sea sect (Essenes) were not the people Whom G-d chose to transmit His Torah through time anyway so even if their Torah matched the Septuagint exactly, it would not be a valid witness. The Pharisees were. The Parisees exist as Orthodox Jews today. NONE of the NT books are originals so you cannot state which was written first because none are original. Today's NT is a compialation "based upon a true story" and everyone knows how accurrate "based" documentation is.

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Anonymous,
March 15, 2010 3:55 AM

To add to #129

Communion in the christian churches also comes from paganism. When they ate the body of and drank the blood of the human sacrifices. This was totally against the Temple Law. Jesus being a Jew would not had taught others to eat his body and drink his blood, as it is told that he did at passover. No Way! Paul even added a curse on anyone that partakes that doesn't believe it is Jesus. Yes that is paganism. I still think the pagan persecutions happened in the 30's, which explains why pagans killed him. #129 you are right,so much was changed. Why would G-d pray to G-d? If they are the same person. In the oldest manuscripts, there is nothing about Jesus at the passover table, it was inserted in many years later. Constantine did not convert, get baptize till right before he died. In some history it was known that the christians were raging war, and killing anybody that wouldn't believe and if Constantine let it continue, they would destroy his empire, this is why he made christianity the state religion. After the fall of Rome, they blamed it on christianity, and had regrets of making christianity the state religion.

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Anonymous,
March 12, 2010 12:15 PM

Interesting Article, What I Found

This article was interesting. I tried to understand what happened so I did some research. If we go to the earliest writings of the first "Jewish Christians" we will find they did not believe in his divinity, the resurrection, the annunciation, or that he was the "son of God". Rather they referred to him as the "servant of God". If we disregard all in the New Testament except for the writings of his brothers, James and Jude, we see that they did not refer to him as the son of God, but again as the servant of God. His older brother James writes as Jesus would have taught, but tells no miraculous stories about Jesus, and his younger brother Jude is having a furious rant about the false teachings and disgruntled status seekers taking control of the movement. The first Christians, Jesus, James, Jude, Mary Magdalen, John, were very much Jewish. What happened? Jesus was revolutionary in teachings of womens equality. Apparently the movement split Mary his mother, John, and Mary Magdalen went to Ephesus. The other sect was led by Peter. Then came Paul. Paul was a mystic and a convert who never met Jesus. It is likely Paul who gave Jesus the first 'Godlike" mystical traits. As the movement spread it converted those in political positions including the Roman Emperor Constantine. Being a Pagan he chose the Paulist mystical version so opposed by the family of Jesus. This relegated the original beliefs to the background of history. If we check the history books we will see that the Pagan persecutions occured from 100-312, but that 312-590 is known as the time when Paganism entered the Christian church. That explains the Divinity issue, integration with the Pagan world. In the Catholic Bible (intro/notes to John) it is explained that a chieftain had to give permission for a visitor to stay in Pagan lands, if he did not like what the visitor said they would be used as a human sacrifice. Quite an incentive to give Jesus the characteristics of a Pagan God.

Anonymous,
May 5, 2011 2:26 PM

Cherish so much for your studies that you have apportioned. It makes impeccable intendment. Your comprehended sagacity is much appreciated. Thanks!

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Hadassa,
February 28, 2010 6:37 PM

wauw !!!

Thank you so much !!!it makes it all so clear to me...thank you !!!

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Anonymous,
February 26, 2010 8:45 PM

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

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Anonymous,
February 13, 2010 5:56 PM

Great article, Rabbi Simmons. For any who would like to read further on this, there is a wonderful book by Asher Norman, an escapee from the missionary exploits of the "Messianic Jewish" movement. His book is entitled "26 Reasons Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus."
What impressed me the most about this book and has truly provided a day of reckoning for my former Christian faith is how the transmission of the Torah has been so well-guarded down through the ages. Not one letter has been changed in any Torah, save a couple of scrolls found in Yemen; even these were corrected. This is a true testimony, to me, of the sacredness with which the Jews have held their scriptures. - the credibility of the Torah is unimpeachable.
The Christian bible, on the other hand, has been continually altered and "corrected" with what the author calls 'perverse audacity'. I know in my house alone I found at least 4 of the total eleven English versions of the Christian bible. What madness!
Shalom!

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Anonymous,
February 13, 2010 5:09 PM

I grew up believing Jesus was both G-d and Messiah. But as I really studied both the Old testament and the New testament i came to the realization that he is not G-d or his equal as taught in christianity. As I studied more I found he isn't the promised messiah either. The very first chapter of the new testament shows error. If you read Matthew 1:22-24 Jesus was never named Immanuel as these verses say was fulfilled prophecy. No one ever even called him that any where in the new testament and the meaning of jesus is completely different from the meaning of Immanuel. "Immanuel" means "With us is G-d" where Jesus Christ means "savior annointed". This is just one thing of many that doesn't match up. Also if you look up "Council of Nicaea" you will find that the New Testament was put together by them out of a variation of many different books thought to written by prophets and they chose the ones that best expressed their views of what christianity should be. The rest were thrown out. Also that was when it was decided to make Jesus a deity where they later added in the holy spirit as a deity and came up with the trinity.

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Anonymous,
February 11, 2010 5:50 AM

The second coming a Jewish perspective

A second coming is not mention in the tanakh. The second coming is only in Christian theology. The liturgical calender teaches from Advent, the anticipation of the birth of Jesus, and then right after that you go into the anticipation of the second coming. You pass through the lenten season, to prepare you for the death and resurrection of Jesus. Then divine mercy, still anticipation of the second coming, till pentecost, when finally the second appearing comes, the holy spirit(Jesus) returns, and comes upon the disciples, which is called the birth of the church. Just like Jesus has already been born, you still go through the waiting like he hasn't,for the advent season, and the second coming was on the day of pentecost, yet each year as a teaching tool, you relive that anticipation, even though it happened on the day of pentecost. This is christian theology. Which means the second coming has already taken place. Which means that Jesus has had 2000 years to fulfill these prophesies, that he has not, and what Christian theology says he will do in the second coming which has already happen, as the church teaches. I am not saying this to hurt anyones faith, or their church teaching. However, I will remind you that you are on a Jewish website, and the title of this article is "why Jews do not believe in Jesus."

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Anonymous,
February 11, 2010 3:32 AM

Amazed by Christian readers

I am just amazed by how many christians have read this article. How many of the christians in churches, could of had Jewish ancestry, and do not know it. From the Jews that fled to the caucasian mountains after the temple was destroyed, to the spanish inquisition, and all the times inbetween when the Jews had to join the church to stay alive. When being a Jew you kept it a secret, and you didn't tell your children. And now several generations later, christians in churches are seeking their ancestery's religious roots. Thanks to your article Rabbi, they can have some understanding.

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HAROLD,
January 21, 2010 2:39 AM

Isaiah was misquoted

Isaiah lived 600 years before Je$u$.It concerned a Jewish King Ahaz(you would know that if you read all of Isaiah 7)and his worries of recapturing Israel Israel was split apart after King Solomon into 2 Kingdoms.King Ahaz , King of the northern Kingdom wanted to reunite both kingdoms and was getting ready for his battles and went to the Prophet Isaiah..
You can read the Prophet saying a son will be born to a young lady..The son was Emmanuel and his father born
of King David was King Ahaz. the prophesy was complete.
Emmanuel was not Jesus and Jesus was not related to King David.
Mary was Joseph's 2nd wife
The Old Testament is not Kosher.
The Jewish Bible is Kosher and is called Tanakh

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Bobby 5000,
January 18, 2010 2:03 PM

Intellect and analysis not blind belief

I read the new testament and Jesus says a lot of nice things. My problem comes when he says you have to believe such and such. Later Paul at the Nicean conference says these are the particular idems that good Christians must believe.
My Judaism is analytical and intellectual, scholars writing the Talmud and responsa poured over tough issues, sometimes reaching conclusions sometimes not. I can disagree and use my mental facilities to the ability given to me.
My biblical heros periodically make mistakes though Jesus in Christianity and Mohammen are supposedly infallible. In short, my judaiism allows me to use my mind as I believe G-d intended.

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Jane,
December 26, 2009 7:25 AM

Yes!! Now I can explain to my family!

Thank you rabbi :) I am a convert and have struggled explaining to family why we dont believe in jesus. They have questioned me at length asking if what I say is only my believe or not. Now I can send them all this article explaining much better than I have been able to

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Anonymous,
December 21, 2009 5:49 PM

to jose m feliciano:

If you feel so strongly about judaism, you can contact a rabbi about converting. There are many rabbis that can help you with that, but only if you are serious about your commitment.

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Anonymous,
December 20, 2009 4:27 AM

This article is great on understanding the difference between the Jewish and Christian Messiah. Unfortunatly, it's not going to cut it when dealing with fanatic/ evangelical Christians. When I was a teen. I went to these types of churches. They believe Jesus is the only way to heaven and anyone who doesn't believe goes to hell. The Christians that don't like Jews defend themselves by saying that Jews belie they're the only ones going to heaven and no one else is. Once I tell them about the 7 Noahide Laws. I explain that they are attributes that allows anyone anywhere in the world, with or without religious training can go to heaven. Jews are "chosen" to uphold the law and nonjews can go to heaven without converting. Then they change their attitudes.

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LR,
November 28, 2009 10:31 PM

More info on mistranslations

Excellent for those of us Jews who were raised mostly among Christians. I have been on the receiving end of proselytizers for exactly 41 years now (since 1st grade) and often wondered why there weren't more articles like this written. The section on mistranslation of much of the bible is very very important yet was given the least amount of detail in your article. Please write more fully on this topic. Thanks.

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yaron,
November 27, 2009 4:02 PM

where does it say that in order for there to be a prophet, the majority of jews must be in israel

could someone please email me the source for the statement about majority of jews living in israel?

(115)
Patrick,
November 23, 2009 8:49 AM

Jesus and Judaism

As a former Christian Pastor who converted to Judaism...this I say: The Historic Jesus did not exist. It was all a lie. There is no real evidence for the man Jesus. There is no contemporary evidence by any scholar of his time to his exsistence. The one reference by Josephus was a latter addition and NOT written by Josephus. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE OF JESUS OR CHRISTIANITY PRIOR TO THE late 1st Century C.E. Most real Christian scholars know this but won't publicly admit it. Christianity and Jesus Christ was a myth created by Saul/Paul.

(114)
Debra,
October 7, 2009 11:42 PM

It was fine to post this comment but it was not fine to post my comment yesterday!
For about 2000 years, millions of Jewish men, women and children have been murdered in the name of Jesus by his followers. That fact should be clearly pointed out time and time again.

(113)
Marty,
October 6, 2009 11:00 AM

Can find “You Are My Witness: The Traditional Jewish Response to Christian Missionaries”

Trying to download this article from, http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/web/worddocs/LA2.pdf
“You Are My Witness: The Traditional Jewish Response to Christian Missionaries” (free pdf file by Yisroel C. Blumenthal)
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Very much liked this.
My only comment is you should write more about the absence of a second coming in the Hebrew Text.
Conveniently christians believe in it, yet it was never mentioned in prophecy.
This would be valuable.
Thanks

(110)
Stan Corbett,
September 6, 2009 4:25 PM

Millions Died in the name of Jesus

For about 2000 years, millions of Jewish men, women and children have been murdered in the name of Jesus by his followers. That fact should be clearly pointed out time and time again.

(109)
Anonymous,
September 6, 2009 7:51 AM

Short video of Ramban's debate on this subject

Here is a short video highlighting Ramban's position on this subject:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wiawe2Pyzws

(108)
Matityahu,
September 6, 2009 7:48 AM

Bringing Jews home from enslavement to Christianity

I have been writing a book (currently 950 pages) wherein I address all alleged "prophesies" of the Christian savior in defense of Judaism. In the book I also address the changes of Hebrew texts as well as the changes of Greek texts of the NT which have been done by the Church. I offer the information free to any Jew who is involved in Christianity that sincerely seeks Emet. Sorry, but I don't work with gentiles. They are welcomed to find an Orthodox rabbi to help them find thier place in this world and the World to Come. Jews are welcomed to contact me at mattityahu at yahoo dot com. I will be happy to visit with you as I am a ger tzaddick formally trapped in the field of the Christian evangelism.

(107)
Richard Maisel,
September 3, 2009 5:59 PM

Thankyou - this is a wonderful adjunct to 'The Year Of The Seed' article

Some of the comments regarding my college experience- infiltrating the messianic Jewish community ask for exactly what you have provided here! I advise those interested - read your clear and consise explanations. Thanks again and Kol Ha Kavod - Richard Maisel ACSW

(106)
Sarah,
September 1, 2009 1:54 PM

More please

I'm so pleased to see information like this becoming more and more public. It's precisely what is needed especially because it's based on our scriptures and not just dogma.
I'm ba'alat teshuva and from a very assimilated family and it's purely by Hashem's hand I find myself drawn to Judaism and getting more frum by the day.
In becoming so I've been very conflicted by all I've been exposed to, and information like this is a huge help.
Next stop, get Gerarld Schroeder or a Rabbi to write about science (evolution, the big bang) and also aetheism. These are the relatively new challenges that assault us daily. I don't think most people who claim to be Christian are actually 100% Christian. I think they absorb aetheism into their creed.
How about some tackle Islam too, in a matter of fact way. It need not be offensive of insulting.

(105)
Anonymous,
August 31, 2009 5:26 PM

Thanks a lot

I was a christian but after seeing the discrepancies in the Christian scriptures I started to question a lot of things. I then recognized that there is one G-d not three etc. Thanks a lot for this article. It just confirms a lot of what I have learnt just by reading the "Old" Testament from the Jewish Scriptures

(104)
Dvirah,
August 30, 2009 2:29 PM

Yet Another Reason

Another reason why Jews cannot believe in even the concept of the Christian "Christ" is that Judaism rejects the notion of putting anything or anyone between oneself and one's Creator. The relationship should be direct and personal.

(103)
Nicole,
July 19, 2009 2:07 PM

Why Jews don't believe in Jesus

Your article is very well written - congratulations. However, I feel it focuses only on that man's messianic claims, missing the greater issue: his alleged deity.
Jews don't believe in Jesus because the Jewish G-d has no need to become a man - consequently no man can be G-d. The Jewish G-d is eternal and incoporeal, he cannot "die" - his existence holds the universe and if he did so would all of us! Scripture itself tells us that G-d is not a man that he should lie! And even to his claim of messiahship - the messiah will bring people to G-d, not BE G-d!
Apologies for writing so strongly, but many people focus on that man's messianic claims and fall victim to the arguments of missionaries of what particular verses mean, whilst mainly G-d does not give his glory to another - and that is what Christians do!!!
Cul tov

(102)
Mandy (Orli),
March 16, 2009 5:00 PM

Thank you so much for this wonderful explanation. I am from a minute and relatively isolated Jewish community in a very Christian country and I am not as observant as I should be and all I have is an innate belief, a knowing, if this makes sense. This will help me articulate answers to questions from Christian zealots when they call at my door and try to convert me. It will be of great value for me if I am fortunate to have grandchildren someday and they are bombarded with Christian preaching and culture all around them as I and my children were when we were at school.

(101)
Anonymous,
January 21, 2009 2:24 PM

Jesus

I don`t believe in Jesus mainly because millions of antisemites believe.It`s impossible for a Jew to divide christianity and antisemitism-corner-stone of it

(100)
Anne,
November 26, 2007 5:40 PM

Thank you for your explanation

Thank you for this nice and clear explanation of why the Jews do not believe in Jesus Christ, at least I have a better understanding now. I myself am from a non strict christian family who never forced any beliefs on me at all. If any body here is unsure about their faith and what path to follow, may I suggest to you to simply go into a state of prayer direct to GOD himself, on a regular basis and ask him for his guidience, maybe a bit of fasting to show him you mean business. The enemy of the human race is a very clever satan, and not each other.

(99)
roger,
April 21, 2007 1:20 PM

Hello! IÂ´m really impressed by your article

(98)
Nelson D'Silva,
January 13, 2007 1:21 AM

Excellent explanation

I was born a Christian but from a very young age I always doubted whether Jesus was the Messiah. The so called New Testament seemed to have been written by a group of conniving and manipulative Romans and Greeks to give pagan Europe a religion equal in status to Judaism. When discussing with Catholic priests and Protestant pastors I have always asked them a very simple question. If Jesus was God, what restricted him from convincingly redeeming the world from its woes? What purpose did it fulfil if Jesus the so called messiah's first coming left the world in greater chaos and strife. They claim that Jesus had to die as a sacrificial lamb to establish a new covenant. To that I always retort as to why would God want to sacrifice his son (to think that God needed a son is in itself paganistic ideology); is God atonning for His sins that He has to make a blood sacrifice or is it man, the sinner, that has to make the blood sacrifice! They don't have a logical answer and indulge in further absurdities. It simply perplexes me to see how mankind has been taken for a ride by a few scheming people.

(97)
Rod Ken,
May 27, 2006 12:00 AM

great

great article

(96)
Peter Hirsch,
May 17, 2006 12:00 AM

An entirely reasonable approach from a startpoint of prejudice.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind: and love your neighbour as yourself."

My personal problem is at present that I find I do not know the in whom I believe; and unless one knows that, it is very difficult to love. It is as if I am outside in the chill darkness of a moonless night, in a fog; and a mist has hidden the stars. I saw them once: I remember glimpses, even of the sun; but I do not quite believe what I remember.

I hope the fog will clear, that a chill dry breeze will blow it away. Then I will get direction from the stars: but then how I would fear the dawn, the aweful uprising of the glorious sun!

In the meantime, I stumble on and blunder into obstacles and ditches, trying to work out a route from first principles and my every step is pain and fear.

The more I learn of this wonderful universe, so the more I wonder at the process and interlocking complexity of creation. Eternity and infinity are beyond imagination. These are the attributes of God. If we talk about these concepts, we talk about ideas beyond our capacity to understand and our talk is largely nonsense and all speculation.

I wonder too, about the constant consistency of ideas in ancient texts. Abraham, whose concept of one almighty God is inherited by Muslims, Jews and Christians alike, was not the first to have that idea. It is also the concept of Brahman (while Atman mirrors the idea God in us) in Hinduism, probably the oldest extant religion. God has been trying to tell us his truth from the beginning of mankind and still is trying. All religions are revelations, some more successful than others. If these are the stars in the night sky, then none are wrong but some give more light than others. All give light and each of us, no matter which star we follow, should not be blind to the light of any other, for we need the light of all of them, as we struggle to find our way through the darkness and none of them will matter much when the dawn breaks.

But before it breaks, we who believe in one God would do best to concentrate on what we agree on and serve him together rather than endlessly waste the energy whe should expend on his work on arguing with each other - or worse.

God be with us all - and may we all be the people of God.

(95)
Vera Hambley,
April 12, 2006 12:00 AM

interesting reading

thank you interesting indeed.

(94)
Felix Aliaga,
February 12, 2006 12:00 AM

Highly illustrating explanation

For decades I've been curious about a Jewish response to Christian theology, and now I've read it. Thank you.

(93)
Anonymous,
February 7, 2006 12:00 AM

To Catholic Female From London

This is a very basic explanation: Regarding the verse referred to in the article (Isaiah 7:14), it has nothing to do with Jesus. If you read it in the Tanakh, you'll see that it has to do with King Ahaz of Judah, who was concerned about two opposing forces (King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel), who wanted to attack Jerusalem. Isaiah told Ahaz that there was a young woman in the House of David who was pregnant and close to giving birth (to a son), and that 'before the lad knows how to reject the bad and choose the good, the ground whose two kings you dread will be abandoned' (Isaiah 7:16). Keep in mind that Ahaz needed a sign that was going to occur during his lifetime - not several hundred (about 700) years in the future.
If you read it out of the Tanakh, you'll see the entire, detailed context.

(92)
Catholic female, London, 16,
January 30, 2006 12:00 AM

Contradiction

Might I add that you contradict yourself. You say that the messiah has to be of the line of David, right? Therefore, Jesus cannot be the messiah because he was born of a virgin, and the messiah has to be in the line of david on his fathers side. Fair enough, but later on you say that Jesus wasn't born of a virgin. The word is alma, and was mistranslated from young woman, to virgin. Therefore, you are saying Jesus WASN'T born of a virgin, but of a young woman, however, you just said that Jesus couldn't be the messiah because he WAS born of a virgin. Which is it? Sorry if this sounds aggressive, just curious (I'm a Catholic btw)

Anonymous,
October 16, 2012 4:00 PM

Correction

His point was that Christians claim that she was a virgin, so if she was a Virgin then, then according to that claim he cannot be the messiah.
Even further, the lineage they claim him to be of, is not the line that would ever be king.

(91)
Etaoin Shrdlu,
December 25, 2005 12:00 AM

Other differences with Christianity

Thanks for the excellent discussion of why Jesus is not the messiah. But what about the other differences between the faiths? For all the rhetoric about the so-called "judeo-christian tradition" it would really be more accurate to speak of a Judeo-Christian Division!

The plain fact is that many of the fundamental concepts of Christianity are a blasphemy to Judaism: Original Sin, Vicarious atonement by the crucifixion, Salvation through Grace, all are contrary to the essential Jewish concept of G-d as a god of Justice. We are answerable only for the sins we commit, not for those a remote ancestor. Furthermore, we must obtain forgiveness from those we have wronged, and receive it by our own efforts, not through the vicarious act of another. Finally, deeds, not faith, are the key to "salvation". The righteous of the earth all have a share in "the life to come", regardless of their beliefs. While, of course, it would be preferrable that the world recognize the G-d of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, the obligation to do so only falls on those who wish to accept the covenant with Israel.

(90)
cappy anderson,
December 24, 2005 12:00 AM

Makes sense to me a Christian

I have to say-your article makes more sense to me as a putative only Christian. I grew up in a quasi anti semitic household but the bible stuff they tried to feed me did not digest well.
Bottom line-the spiritual PRINCIPLES of the major religions and one's attempt to live up to them are what count as far as I'm concerned

(89)
John Wilson,
December 23, 2005 12:00 AM

Thank you for "Why Jews Don't Believe In Jesus". It is very useful in both format and content. I have printed out a copy for ease of reference in the future.

It is appallingly common to hear Christians(and not just fundamentalists)claim: "If Jews would only believe their own prophecies, they would acknowlege Jesus as Lord." Most Christians have never been exposed to the Jewish interpretation and understanding of Jewish Scripture. It is common for Christians to feel a love for the "Old Testament" and when confronted skillfully with jewish scholarship there is an emotional response, a kind of inner knowing, that for the first time one is finally hearing the truth about something with which one has lived yet not known at all.

i dont know how many idiots it takes to know GODS word NEVER CHANGES. He is ALPHA AND OMEGA. hOW HARD IT TO UNDERSTAND?IF IT IS IN THE INTERPAITON OF HEBREWW EXPLAIN???

(87)
Anna Dickan,
August 7, 2005 12:00 AM

As a practicing Catholic and religious studies educator, I appreciate your informative article, even though I feel the Catholic view has been misprepresented in some of the readers' comments.I respect your informative comments

I am a practicing Catholic who has been teaching Catholic Christian religious studies on the high school level for nineteen years. I have also been chairperson of the religious studies department of an Archdiocesan Cahtolic high school for the past five years. First, I would like to express my appreciation for the informative article on the Jewish view of Jesus. The points are clearly articulated and supported. The Catholic Christian Faith which I embrace, however, is one which emphasizes its roots in Judaism. Please know that a great deal of reverence is attributed to the Jewish Faith and people in the religious studies curriculum of Catholic high schools. The Jesus we teach of does not contradict the Torah; rather, he expands the message of the Torah, emphasizing the "Spirit" of the Law, rather than the "letter" (the reason why he seemingly contradicted the Torah by curing people on the Sabbath). Catholics believe that the "perfect kingdom" our Messiah (Jesus) brings about was begun by him in this world, is to be continued by us in acts of charity, understanding, justice, etc. during our lives, and will be brought to perfection in the next world. In this way, the Catholic belief is that each one of us takes part in building the Kingdom of God on earth. Also, the Catholic belief is that Jesus did indeed fulfill Messianic prophecies, such as his birth in Bethlehem (foretold by Isaiah), and in the words of Psalm 22, fulfilled at his death. Please know that Catholic educators today consider Jewish history and teachings with profound respect.

(86)
jose m feliciano,
August 6, 2005 12:00 AM

Being Jewish

I was cristian for more than 20 years and a year visit to Israel showed me the way to G-d, and I feel in my heart that I am Jew. Although I can't trace any hebrew lineage on my family; can I still become Jew? I'm circumcized and I read the Torah everyday. I follow the laws (deut) and I'm awaiting the Messiah. Is it posible?

Shalom: Brujim Havaim

(85)
majezan,
August 3, 2005 12:00 AM

Concept of God that raise confusion

I am 46,raised in a moderate Muslim socio-culture.I think the problem with us is regarding the concept of God.It is due to the learned men of all religion to adhere to their own interpretation and exploitation of God's meaning of Himself that confuse the mass.As normal human being,we do not have enough time to explore all religious books to have a good grasp of what is being told or written,worst if the written scriptures was altered and coloured by individual interest passing history.I would like to suggest all our friends to read the Holy books unaided by mentor and we can explore them and will definitely understand the meaning of God,so we can save the world and live in harmony.

(84)
Victoria,
July 17, 2005 12:00 AM

this is not anti-christian! it's straightforward explanation of the jewish position

How the visitor Randolph Smith came to view ideas like the following as slander is beyond me: "How can we hasten the coming of the Messiah? The best way is to love all humanity generously, to keep the mitzvot of the Torah (as best we can), and to encourage others to do so as well."
Clearly, he couldn't read the very words you wrote!

(83)
JEHIEL CHALEFF,
July 14, 2005 12:00 AM

VIRGIN BIRTH

TO BE VALID UNDER HEBREW LAW A MARRIAGE NEED HAVE BEEN CONSUMMATED. IF MARY & JOSEPH WERE INDEED MARRIED AT THE TIME OF JESUS' BIRTH THEN SHE COULD NOT FAVE BEEN A VIRGIN.

(82)
Ramon E. Vicioso,
May 28, 2005 12:00 AM

My deepest respect and admiration.

I am 41 years old, born in Dominican Rep., Catholic, but a firm believer in Israel.

For long time has been my believed that the world has a debt with Israel.
The courage, bravery and suffering of Israel is without equal.
I do not understand how blind is the world. The world do not realize how much the world owe to Israel.
I am a poor man, but one day I wish God give me the means to be able to pay my debt.
The Children of Israel are the chosen one and they have shown why.
If is possible I would like to help Israel. Like I said, I am poor, but just let me know.
I dont like writing, but I could give you my phone number.
Is there a forum where I can talk to ppl with my way of thinking?

(81)
randolph Smith,
May 25, 2005 12:00 AM

If you insist on slandering my savior as you are, you are only fanning the fires of anti-semitism which sincere Christians seek to extinguish because Jesua's message is one of love, not bigotry. When you slander him and diminish him to the nations you are a bigot yourself.

(80)
Karen Kennedy,
May 11, 2005 12:00 AM

I didn't know

I didn't know. This article has been informative and insightful.

(79)
jolene,
April 23, 2005 12:00 AM

i will pray for all of you for i would not want any to perish

(78)
Ernest Torres,
April 18, 2005 12:00 AM

Awaking

I need to know more about religions other than Christianity

(77)
PEDRO R POLIDARIO,
March 30, 2005 12:00 AM

to,rabbi shraga simmons,i would like to have a features of this,,,,,for my perspective of research in religion, thanks, pedro

(76)
Adina,
March 22, 2005 12:00 AM

loved the article. It brought insight to a beter understanding. I have been looking for a website like this.

(75)
Maxine Endy,
February 15, 2005 12:00 AM

a real eye-opener

Thanks so much for helping me to be able to explain this to my fellow Jews and non-Jewish friends. I always give your site as a reference to people looking for answers!

(74)
Adina,
February 15, 2005 12:00 AM

Helpful information for Jewish chat rooms!

There are as many missionaries as Jews in Jewish chat rooms. I appreciate having facts with which to counter their arguments.

(73)
Jody,
February 10, 2005 12:00 AM

Very interesting-thank you for this clarification!

I was raised Lutheran, but am very interested in religion and do not follow the christian faith specifically anymore. I felt this article answered so many questions that had disturbed me for most of my life. Thank you!!!!

(72)
Michael Granados,
January 27, 2005 12:00 AM

Why Jews don't believe in Jesus?

Todah Rabah ! We need more information like this. Thank you.

(71)
Nathalice,
November 6, 2004 12:00 AM

what a relief!

I was catholic, but I left the church because I was feeling as if I were living a kind of lie there. My questions and doubt weren´t answered. Now reading your text I feel a relief. You explained an important issue clearly. Above all you based your arguments on the Bible.
Todah rabah lecha!!

(70)
Anonymous,
October 18, 2004 12:00 AM

so much to learn!

as the saying goes, you never stop learning.i'm a christian.i discovered the truth about the shabbat 14 years ago and stopped worshipping on sunday.will continue reading your articles.thanks for the explanations.

(69)
Anonymous,
August 15, 2004 12:00 AM

from black south african

this has been an eye opener. I learned so much about judaism in less than 5min

(68)
Roy Amick,
August 14, 2004 12:00 AM

Thank you for answering some questions I have had.

I recently converted from Christianity to Judaism for many of the reasons you have mentioned. Unfortunately, I belong to a Conservative/Reform Synagogue and there isn't much teaching there as our rabbi is itenerant. Your website is excellent and a great help in convincing me that I made the right decision. I began to think of conversion when I served for five weeks in the Sar-El program in Israel. My wife and I again went back this summer for another four weeks. We hope to finish our conversion and someday move to Israel. I also discovered recently that my ancestors were Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe. HaShem seems to be calling out his people from pagan Christianity. Thanks again for the excellent commentary and Shalom.

Roy Amick

(67)
Livia,
July 15, 2004 12:00 AM

Incredibly thorough!

After reading "all of this articles links" there will be no doubt about how to answer a missionary. Thank you for the concise explanation.

(66)
Geoff,
April 18, 2004 12:00 AM

As jews we need articles like this to understand the weak foundation that unerdlies Jesus' teachings. For a more comprehensive treatment of how Christianity and Islam have distorted the Old Testamant and how their claims can be easily refuted, read Rejoice O Youth and Awake my glory be Rabbi Avigdor Miller.

(65)
Anonymous,
April 9, 2004 12:00 AM

I was raised in a Catholic Home, my grandfather was a very religious man, and I spend most of my years of school in a private catholic school where I was not supposed to ask questions, I was just told to have faith in what I was learning about my religion, so everything I learned was inconclusive and questionable, and there were many things that contradicted themselves and many, many things that I never understood one of them the Trinity, but I never asked questions because I was only to have faith. Now that I am grown up and reading the old testament and also the new testament my mind is full of quetions. In the old testament I found many readings that make so much sense. My catholic religion is based on both the new and the old testament but now that I am reading it again I can see there is many things that we as Catholic don't follow through, also my big question is Jesus the mesiah came and there is still no peace on earth? What happened? I want to read more books regarding judaism. Can you recoment good books, please.
Thank you,
Patricia

(64)
Laura,
April 9, 2004 12:00 AM

Curious for faith

i was bought up in a non religious family, i used to go to a baptist church on my own from the age of 9. i hae been searching for the true faith and it gives me joy to read texts like why jews dont believe in jesus, it sets my mnd working, positive energy and i can see the world from another point of view. thank you

(63)
Christina,
April 2, 2004 12:00 AM

It all makes sense

Having been raised Catholic, I never quite "got" what the big deal was. At a VERY early age, I began questionning the faith that was being imposed upon me. As I got older, I gave up and began to learn more about Judaism. And once again, I didn't quite "get it." But this article somehow put it all in perspective. I get it now!! Although I have not converted as of yet, I probably will. If anything, this article has brought me closer to making that decision. Thank you, Rabbi Simmons.

(62)
EDITH ALSTER,
March 31, 2004 12:00 AM

THE JEWISH FUTURE

We need to educate our own Jews on our religion, history & Torah. It is sadly amazing to find so much ignorance especially from college students, that is why they are so easily persuaded. This is a sad commentry on what our future holds in store for us. Learning begins at home.
EDITH ALSTER

(61)
Mike Kruger,
March 24, 2004 12:00 AM

another reason

I am a Jew that is living in a christian home. Because of my beleif that Jesus was not the messiah,I basically got disowned. However, I mentioned to my parents that if Jesus was the messiah and he "saved us from our sins" why is there so much sinning in the world still today.?

(60)
Karey Skinner,
March 23, 2004 12:00 AM

I wish everyone had access to websites like this. If we were all familiarised with eachothers' beliefs there wouldn't be so much prejudice and intolerance around.

(59)
Anonymous,
March 23, 2004 12:00 AM

The Jesus myth has caused the world misery.

Most Christians do not understand that Jesus is not his name and he did not created a new religion. Saul did but irrationality still permeates human concepts. We must support Israel and our people through education.

(58)
Anna R,
March 21, 2004 12:00 AM

Jesus article

I am a Christian who is 1/8 Jewish, the 1/8 being enough to get me anti-Semitic remarks and attitudes in London;'that Jewess' being the nicest. I took it as a compliment, as my Jewish heritage is very precious to me.

I found the Why Jews Don't Believe In Jesus very informative & not 'vitriol'. I don't see it as anti-Christian, but as a concise summary of what the Jewish attitude to Jesus is.

If anyone finds this hard to take, I would suggest that they examine their own faith. I know what I believe, and also respect others' rights to their own beliefs. As a friend of mine says, we should look at what we have in common, not dwell on our differences. In my opinion. G-d will not ask why we were a Jew/Gentile/Sikh et al but what kind of Jew/Gentile et al we were!

Shalom to all readers.

PS Does being 1/8 Jewish count as being Jewish ???

(57)
yehudite,
March 20, 2004 12:00 AM

Superb;concise

As a Jew brought up in Israel until age 3, and growing up in a totally Jewish home in New York, Philadelphia, Virginia,going to a Hebrew speaking camp in the summers with Flatbush Yeshiva kids who knew so much more than I about Judaism, I always knew the minhagim,how to davin, and speak Hebrew fluently. However, I never studied about Judaism. I am now an adult woman and have sent all my children to Jewish Day School. They know more than I about their roots and I find it difficult to study. Life is full of mundane pressures. Readings like this are invaluable as a way of enriching my knowledge. Thank you. The more the better.

(56)
Iris,
March 20, 2004 12:00 AM

Thank you for your excellent article

As a Jew who is surrounded by Christians, I truly appreciate this article which explains why Jews do not believe in Jesus as the Messiah. I much prefer this scholarly and thoughtful explanation to the knee jerk type of response which betrays understandable hatred for a figure upon which so much Jewish suffering and death have taken place. This article should be used in all places of Jewish and Christian education.

(55)
Anna,
March 20, 2004 12:00 AM

I am a Christian, but I have long realized that my reality may not be someone else's and I respect that. However, in reading the comments posted on this and other Jewish websites, I must say that I am a bit taken aback at all the vitriol leveled against my faith. I may be a goy, but if I insulted Judaism the way I have seen my faith insulted, would I not be considered (with reason) anti-Semitic? And why is it acceptable for others to bash my faith? Bigotry is bigotry, wherever you find it. There are no exceptions.

(54)
Bonnie,
March 17, 2004 12:00 AM

Outreach

Dear Rabbi Simmons: The phrase you quoted in the beginning of your excellent article: "the best Christian outreach opportunity in 2000 years" is exactly where I would place your article and the many other excellent commentaries that are coming forth from Jewish sources. You and countless other Jews hold age old knowledge of not just what it means to be a Jew, but what the definitions and meanings are relating to G-d.

The links you provided are EXCELLENT!

For almost two years I have been reading and searching my heart, praying and considering much before the Lord.....I want definition and knowing. From reading the response to your article, it seems I am not the only one, Jew or Christian who is hungry for true knowledge.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

(53)
Anonymous,
March 15, 2004 12:00 AM

nice summary of beliefs

shalom, thanks for the well written article...i am part jew and undergoing conversion...i was raised christian...and believed it for a while..until God opened my eyes and i started to ask the questions which no one wants to hear...it has taken me a while to reach all the conclusions you have put into your article...and when i had asked my jewish friends about why they didnt beleive in jesus....to be blundt...they knew less about their faith and beliefs than i did....it was disheartening....your article should be read by all jews who are sincere in their quest for the knowledge of God in their life...and most importantly..they need to study the tanakh and take it to heart...not just listen to a few lines from a boring cantor/rabi on saturday morning.....live the tankakh and take it to heart! make it a part of you so that when a gentile or a non believing jew ask why you dont believe in jesus....you wont have to stumble around trying to think of reasonable sounding answers....another thing i have noticed with dismay, is the mean spirited or cowardly way many jews respond to christians when they are challenged about their belief in God and why they dont believe in jesus...... a lot of christians are trying very hard to know who God is....they have been brought up NOT to ask hard questions but to just "have faith and believe"it is a golden opportunity for every faithful jew to give a possibly life changing response to someone who could truly be searching for the truth.......sure...many christians will not listen to anything you have to say no matter how rightly you speak......but there are more christians out there who will listen if you approach them with kindness and love than you might ever imagine.......dont be hateful and arrogant..but dont shrink from the challenge.....and above all dont be ignorant of what you are supposed to believe.....know the torah and the prophets.........i have read many of the anti christian books available now....most have many valid points......but many are given to exageration which is neither desireable nor neccessary......just know the tanakh and speak to them out of loving kndness...which is how we received it from God
shalom
michael

(52)
Anonymous,
March 15, 2004 12:00 AM

Very clear explanation

Thank you for clarifying our position towards J. The article's point by point explanation makes our position crystal clear. After reading this article, there can be no doubt in anyone's mind that the claims used by missionaries to shmad our innocent/unlearned brethren are nothing more than twisted misrepresentations of the Torah. Moshe emes v'soraso emes. Thank you!

(51)
Anonymous,
March 13, 2004 12:00 AM

The Catholics I know

psst! The Catholics(including a priest brother-in-law age 66, my other brother-in-law age 60, and my husband age 68 (I'm 59 and raised Lutheran) do not want to read this or hear about it. In fact on a regular basis from them, I hear how the Jews own and control the media so much I want to hit them over the head! But, my voice is a little one crying in the wilderness and easily dismissed by them (they like to say I'm nervous, or anti-catholic, or I have abandoned my Catholic religion - which I think I should). They don't care nor want to listen to facts or a voice of reason. I even mentioned the new book, THE NEW ANTI-SEMITISM, which scares me as I believe it is true, but they don't care and won't listen because only they are correct! The most anti=semitic people I know are Catholic (and are Irish and Polish). This is my experience after converting (before I met my husband) and marrying 40 years ago. When I was a young mom and was bothered by some Catholic teaching, and went to confession. I told the priest that I guess I would stay Catholic and raise my children in the Church as the Church must be the one true church because it has lasted so long, or it has to be pure evil! I still have tons or trouble with these "good and holy Catholics". Once when I talked about Bill Kurtis' report on pedofile priest (many many years ago), the brother-in-law the priest jumped up, pointed his finger in my face, and said I needed psychiatric help! My husband said I caused a rift in the family - which unfortunately isn't true, because he would walk through fire for them, but can't even introduce me as his wife when our daugther was recently in ICU without first introducing "my good, holy brothers" first! It's a sickness!!! Just last week I was being shouted at in the car by my brother-in-law (who's the bacheor) that the Jews own and control the media! The controlling ones are these holy Catholics, not the evangelical Protestants. I have to "suck-it-up" and listen to this prejudice becuause my husband's brothers are so good and help us out when he and our daughter are so sick(so he says - its just a command to have to sit and listen to them!) If it was the Inquisition, I would be dead and condemned to hell already. This prejudice of theirs even pervades a comment on the soup I made for my husband (and I'm known as a good cook). Because I had to go to the store and buy the kosher noodles I liked, my husband said the soup wasn't as good as I usually make- "what did you do, use the Jewish noodles?" Maybe you are Catholic and reading this and will be very insulted by these accusations. Well, why did Gibson go to the evangelical groups to show this movie? I think because he know they would embrace it without accepting the Catholic theology (the exact meaning of a few words that can be interrupted differently by Catholic vs. Protestant theology). In my area, it's the Protestant churches, not the Catholic, ones that are advertising this movie. Again this is my experience in a big Catholic metro area. Sometimes I think I was Jew from the Holocaust born into a gentile soul that converted to Catholic Church to be the reluctant conscience of the Pope's holy followers. Or, you may think I am a little bit nuts, but beware. These same good Catholic brothers I know wooed and joked their way into the good graces of my jewish doctors, and them come home and think our country is being control by the Jews who are very anti-catholic! Wake up America and the world! The Jews are God's timetable and we should be so lucky as to be God's chosen people. Shalom.

(50)
Anonymous,
March 13, 2004 12:00 AM

if so, then what?

Shalom.

Thank you for the article. My next question is what's next if this is the case. Has anyone at Aish thought about putting up an article or a link to another site that describes Judaism's requirements for gentiles - specifically the Seven Commandments of Noah? I think this would be very helpful in explaining the part about the world recognizing the God of Israel: when people recognize that they have a part in Judaism as "Children of Noah," they won't need to define themselves as Christians in order to have a relationship with the God of the Bible.

(49)
Anonymous,
March 13, 2004 12:00 AM

Finally, clarity on why we don't believe in Jesus!

This article by Rabbi Simmons is nothing less than magnificent. It is clear and gets straight to the point. Everything I more or less knew - but couldn't articulate - I now understand clearly. Thank you!

May we see the true messiah speedily in our time!

(48)
Hillary,
March 12, 2004 12:00 AM

Thanks for helping me clarify why

I have so many gentile friends who ask me what Jews believe about Jesus. They ask if we believe he was a prophet, but not the messiah, or if we even believe he existed at all. Thank you for giving me very distinct and clear answers to that question. Now I can intelligently explain to my friends why we Jews believe in Hashem, not in a man named Jesus.

(47)
Anonymous,
March 11, 2004 12:00 AM

Powerful and Educational

Terrific Job,

Thank you

(46)
David K.,
March 11, 2004 12:00 AM

Not offensive, but informative and STRAIGHT to the point

Well done! You have shown yourselves to be an informative website with a wealth of information for the honest and true thinker.
Thank you for enriching me and helping me broaden MY knowledge.

(45)
Lonnie Craig,
March 11, 2004 12:00 AM

Thank You...!

Tripping & stumbbling thru 15 different
versions of KJV for over the last 38 yrs & the nagghamadi documents- You confirmed my doubts about Jesus as Messiah. He was just a "good ol boy" with a soft spot for the sick & poor... Thank you again.

(44)
Mae Eye,
March 11, 2004 12:00 AM

Thank you for this article!

I have been trying to find something like this article to help me make some explanations re the Messiah. Thank You

(43)
Melvyn Berger,
March 11, 2004 12:00 AM

Everyone should read this, especially Mel Gibson.

You have explained to us the reasons why we still follow our true faith and not a false one. Peolpe of other faiths should read this and understand why we do so.

(42)
Paul Simons,
March 11, 2004 12:00 AM

Gibson's hateful movie spreads the opposite of Christian love.

Gibson fits his own definition of Satan. He grins, bats his eyes at Barbara Walters, says in effect "I'm a good guy'" but his hateful movie spreads the opposite of any Christian message of love. No one in the film even looks right - Jesus, Mary and that family look like German-Irish Catholics, and the Jews look not like Middle Eastern Mediterranean people, but like contemporary American Jews. The movie is trash.

(41)
Peltz, Feivel,
March 10, 2004 12:00 AM

S. Simmons' work is masterful
Rabbi Simmons article should be required reading for evryone involved in
Jewish outreach.

(40)
Mustafa Khan,
March 10, 2004 12:00 AM

Very good web site for every one, specially information about jews.

(39)
Anonymous,
March 10, 2004 12:00 AM

Jews didn't accept the theology of the New Testament because it did not agree with normative Judaism.

I am auditing a course this year at Bar-Ilan University about the growth of Christianity in the First Century. The main idea I have come away with is that the tenents of the Christian faith which did attract a small number of Jews and a larger number of gentiles just did not agree with normative Judaism. (E.g.: Baptism in Christianity brings an abolition of sin. This is not acceptable in normative Judaism where emercement (tvila)brings ritual purity. Christian morality as put forth in the NT negates people living in a normally functioning community. I am definitely not an expert on any of this, but I do have the feeling that the majority of the Jewish people (all through history) just were not willing to accept the precepts of Christianity.

(38)
Al Puglisi,
March 10, 2004 12:00 AM

book

Wonderful piece. This site, along with Jews for Judaism and Judaism 101, and several books, was intrumental in my departure from trinitarian Christianity.
As you can see, you article was an eye opener for the Christians who do read this site.They had never heard this before. Either had I. Unfortunately there is what, maybe 1 Christian for every fifty Jews that read this site.The point being, the most Christians will never hear what you had to say here. What is needed is a book in which Judaism confronts the theology of the Christian church.I am sure many Christians would be receptive to and have their eyes opened by such a work.

(37)
Anonymous,
March 10, 2004 12:00 AM

Great Explanation

I was raised a Christian and taught to revere Jesus. I was taught to pray to Jesus and that Jesus would be my savior and that he alone would have all of my sins forgiven. Our Church used the new testatment as do most christian churches. As I grew older and began to read the Old Testament, I began to notice discrepancies. I am not a genious. If I can read the Bible and notice things are not right with my religion, then most of the christian population should also be able to do the same. For the life of me I can not understand why they refuse to see the truth. You would think everyone has the yearning I have. It brought me to the Bible. It brought me to search for the truth. It brought me to this site. Even though I was raised with this strong belief in Jesus I still had this yearning for something that was missing. I still do. I still do not have the courage to go to a synogog to worship. I miss the spiritual aspect of not going to Church. I pray every night and day directly to G-d now, but I still feel ike something is missing. I have shared your information with other Christians and some flat out say you are lying. They deny the truth. One was so ignorant and surprised that Jews did not believe in Jesus. I was totally amazed at the person's reaction. I grew up in a remote part of the world, yet I knew Jews did not believe in Jesus. The mentality of the human population absolutely amazes me. I pray for the day the real Mesiah comes and opens everyone's eyes to the truth. G-d Bless Isreal and the Jews. I hope you can get the message out the needs to get out to everyone in this troubled world. There is so much hate. People are raised to hate other people. It seems like an impossible undertaking to get this peace to all the world.

(36)
Greg Wotton,
March 10, 2004 12:00 AM

Messiah -- messiah

If there was such a person as Jesus he was certainly "a" messenger, a philosopher if you will, but certainly a Good Jew.

Most Christians are completely unaware of the sheer butchery that the "New Testament" went through before the Roman Emperor accepted it and "declared" it "true". There are many versions of the Gospels and many Gospels that didn't make the cut (i.e. didn't agree with the political agenda of the time). With these "Gnostic" Gospels in combination with the four that made the book we get a very different view of Jesus.

I don't think that he meant for people to think of him as THE Messiah (capitals intended), rather he felt that it was important to impart the role of the messiah into every single person. We are all Children of G-d and within us all there is a spark of the divine. We have Mitzvot to perform, many of which exemplify charity, kindness and community. This may have been the man's message. It is too bad that it got blown out of proportion.

Whether the man was fictional or real, the message was to love each other, be kind and charitable and take on the personal responsibility of setting an example for the whole world. It's sad that we can go from a message like that to a 90 min. bloodbath about his execution. What about the others that were executed for annoying the Romans? Why don't we remember their names as well? Was their sacrafice any less than his?

Today we need people to act as examples of Good more than ever before so please, the next time you're doing a mitzvot, consider how important it is for others to see that some people in this world still care.

in Light
Greg

(35)
Anonymous,
March 9, 2004 12:00 AM

Printed your article for the Mother of a friend

Firstly thank you for your article which I have printed for a friend whoose Mother has been dragged by her Catholic daughter in law to a a special screening of this film at their Church.

I have no doubt that this will not be the only attempt at "evangelising" and promoting their faith.

(34)
anita passman,
March 9, 2004 12:00 AM

I really enjoyed reading the article and even though I knew some of the information, I still can't help but wonder how so many people have accepted Christianity.
Could it be as I have always thought that it is easier to believe in Jesus because you don't have to do all the mitzvot to have a relationship with G-d.
Secondly , is that really a bad thing. I wish there was a web site to discuss this with other people. Thank you again

(33)
Anonymous,
March 9, 2004 12:00 AM

This article should be part of the curriculum of every Hebrew school, Sunday school, wherever Judaism is taught. Our children should internalize why we do not believe in Jesus and at the same time what we as Jews do believe.

(32)
Steve Walker,
March 9, 2004 12:00 AM

Appreciate the clarity

As a believer in Jesus, I found your concise comments very helpful in understanding the Christian position from a Jewish point of view. I appreciated your irenic tone and specific disagreements. Thank you!

(31)
susan,
March 9, 2004 12:00 AM

for my son

This article is helpful, especially for my son. We live in South Carolina. Where there is mostly christians.So now I can talk to huim about this. thank you

(30)
betti miner,
March 9, 2004 12:00 AM

amazing!

Rabbi Simmons is right on!!!! I was not aware that tribal affiliation is through the father. I grew up a Christian but chose Judaism 10 years ago along with my husband who I had long and thoughtful talks with. We had read over 25 books on the Catholic Church and its invention by Constantine in CE 325 and the corruption and hatred against the Jews. Mel Gibson's movie we will never go see, it is anti-Semitism in its purest form and makes us Jews look bad, and we do not want to watch a man get killed slowly for an hour-and-a-half. No thank you. It is a fictional account in places, thanks to a nun who must have had a bad piece of bread. Thank you Rabbi Simmons for your revealing article.

(29)
Anonymous,
March 9, 2004 12:00 AM

Very interesting...

I've always wondered why the Jews didn't believe in Jesus. I've never truly heard an explanation like that. Now that I've heard it I find it very very interesting. Thank you.

(28)
Leon Blum,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Very Concise Thanks

Thanks for your clearly written discussion of this important issue. We are beginning a discussion of this topic in a bi-weekly meeting sponsored by the United Orthodox Synagogue, TORCH (in Texas). I forwarded this link to the participants of our group to jump start our discussions.

(27)
Rabbi Yerachmiel Milstein,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Outstanding!

The clarity of your piece is exceeded only by its brevity. It should be required reading for everyone searching for truth. For an even more compelling understanding of the power of National Revelation, readers are urged to attend the Discovery Seminar.

(26)
Simmy Lager,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Brilliant!

Didn't know all the answers till I read these expounded views and commentary. It has certainly revealed all I ever wanted to know

(25)
Edward Emsley,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Toda Rabbah

From someone who believes in Emet HaTorah but who is niether a Jew, Christian or Muslim,...thank you Rabbi Simmons for feeding my Soul.

(24)
JUAN,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

IT'S VERY TRUE

THANK YOU, VERY MUCH FOR THIS INFORMATION.NOW I HAVE MORE INFO TO TELL PEOPLE WHY I CONVERTED.I AM A LATIN.SOME FAMILY AND FRIENDS TRY TO CALL ME A TRADER.BECAUSE I DON'T FOLLOW WHAT THEY BELIEVE(CATOHLIC).BUT THANK G~D!.I KNOW THE TRUTH.ONE G~D!SHALOM!.

(23)
JOYCE,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Enlighted

Thank you for writting this topic, It will help us a lot to explain to our gentile friends why Jews doesnt recognize JC as Messiah.

(22)
Debra,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

All the answers

(21)
Anonymous,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

clear cut

Plain and simple; this brief piece has articulated a book full of learning in one page. I read 'On Eagle's Wings' which helped me to understand the Jewish perspective on the Moshiach. An excellent book, but this article even more so, crystalises why the Nazarene is not accepted as the Moshiach.

Shalom.

(20)
Anonymous,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

A key point

One key point that you didn't mention is that Judaism is based on peace, justice, love, obeying the second Commandment, even to the point of letting your slaves go free in the 7th year. The cruelty, savagery and brutality, that was inflicted upon Jesus obviously is in direct opposition to Judaic beliefs.

(19)
Anonymous,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Excellent, concise and clear

Thanks for a quotable, useful treatise on some very important differences between Judaism and Christianity.

(18)
Yaakov,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Moshiach on the front pages

Gibson and his message are ugly and hateful, but it is surely for the best that the world is now abuzz with dicussions of who can be Moshiach, what will he accomlish, etc. As Jews especially begin to feel the need to know what Torah, and particularly the inner Torah of kabbalah and Chassidus have to say on the matter, it will serve to bring about the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days.

(17)
j spencer,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Helpful

Thanks for your contribution to the discussion. I fear this movie may be the beginning of a pressure to proselytize. Your words are ammunition, especially for children of secular, unaffiliated parents who haven't been given the background, sense of identity or skills to retort. I hope your readers will forward your comments.

(16)
sheila minnich,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

This is the best explanation I've ever read!

I have needed something like this to show my Gentile friends. Many thanks!

(15)
Bob MacLAughlin,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

On The Passion

Dear Rabbi Simmons: I have not yet seen the Passion. Maybe I will, maybe not. I have read with interest your comments, and those of Rabbi Blech, Charles Krauthammer, and Rabbi Shapiro. They certainly give a person a lot to think about. I guess we'll differ on who Jesus was: but when I pick up my Bible I'm hold Jewish history in my hands, and for that may the Almighty bless you, His people. Thanks to you all, oh.. there was an editorial cartoon that you should have scene. One panel showed the Crucifixion and the other showed a crowd with money in their hands waiting to see "The Passion". It seems that what it all comes down to is not faith, but money. Keep well, Best regards
Bob MacLaughlin

(14)
Colin White,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

What every one should read

These writings are invaluable for a person to form their own informed opinions and hence to conduct their life accordingly.

(13)
Good,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Thanks

This article answered my questions very simply, without all the complicated going on andn on and losing me, thanks for this great article.

(12)
Anonymous,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

thank you

What a wonderful consice statement, Rabbi, and so needed among many of us. In a way, we should be thanking Mel Gibson for giving us an impetus for learning about and affirming our own faith. I learned a lot from the book, "You take Jesus, I'll Take God" But I must state that I have never heard nor have I been taught to hate or despise Jesus or those people who profess belief in him. AS Maimonides stated, those people who have descended from pagans have come to an understanding of God which they would perhaps not otherwise had. Many of those people are supporters and friends of Jews. If one beleives that God orders all and sends all things then one must accept that God had a hand in the beginnings of the Christian religion and has organized the world for Christianity's place. I believe that Mel Gibson has much to answer for and that he has mmainipulated the whole situation for his own personal pride and aggrandizement, not to mention the slew of money that he is making from this venture. As the saying goes, he is crying" all the way to the bank." But we should not let a Mel Gibson stand in the way of us all helping to bring the Messiah and that way is through the betterment of the world which won't happen by the belittlement of one group or another. wonder if the embrace of this movie that we see is an indication of the fact that many of its viewers feel a lack of spiritualty in their lives.

(11)
Anonymous,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Wonderful, meaningful article

Thank you for the wonderful article, but unfortunatly this is only read by Jews!re: Comments- Don't you think it is time to stop criticising Reform and Conservative Jews!!! I think we do concern ourselves about keeping our children and grandchildren Jewish!!!and remember that anti-Semites do not discriminate...so why should we?

(10)
John Hummel,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Thank you

I am an evangelical Christian and have read many pieces outlining the differences between Judiasm and Christianity. Often times the arguments are full of vitriol, from both sides. Thank You for a clear and unantagonistic presentation.

(9)
Len,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

A thoughtful and civil response

Thank you so much for your fair and reasonable discussion of the issue of the nature of Jesus. I am a Christian who has been offended by the furious condemnation of the central theme of my faith; the redemption of mankind by the suffering and death of Jesus.
Your discussion is informed, well thought out, and fair. Thank you for establishing a high standard in putting forth your position.
I hope we all will get over the anger and begin to dialogue constructively.

Bless you.

(8)
Lea S. Krasniker,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

not pointed enough

Dear Rabbi Shaga, everything you write is of course correct, but I think that you should start with the basics 1, 2, 3: according to our Torah (Deut.13.1 and onwards, the laws about the false prophet)that are ironically copied in the N.T. "not to add or to omitt the smallest sign" shows that Jesus of Nazaret was a false prophet who omitted and added to the Law of Moses. Once a false prophet, always one and it is impossible to rectify with a "second coming". Another question: how is it possible to kill a god? "DEICIDE??????" Christianity is maybe the religion of double talk: Love= S.M. (Masochism/Sadism) and that is the basis of this belief. It cannot exist without carefully preserving each blow,drop of blood etc. etc, BECAUSE that is their raison d'etre: their founder HAS to suffer, because that takes away all responsibility of the followers of any bad deed. They are free because he is the sufferer, and the more the better. Of course somebody has to be the perpetrator and guess who? The Jews!!!!. It is a given that Esav hates Ja'akov(Edom versus Israel)and our Sages long ago recognized Edom as Christianity (the sign of the pig who shows is split hooves: "look how kosher I am", but not on the INSIDE). The hypocrisy is nausiating. The so called love for Israel has only one basis: to hunt our souls for conversion.
We do NOT need them in any way. Just like Mordechai said to Esther: ...relief and deliverance will come to the Jews ...We in Israel live with the daily wonders of G'd's Protection against all our oppresors and we should concern ourselves with ourselves and living according to the Law of Moses. Edom will stand trial, don't worry. It is written by the Prophets. With regards from Zion and impatiently expecting the arrival of our King the Mashiach and total redemption
Lea

(7)
silvia borges,
March 8, 2004 12:00 AM

Exceptional write-up....

I'm a "newly self proclaimed" Sephardic Jew and having attended Cathollic schools thru College, your article addressed so very many points that I should have been asking myself. It's as if you answered questions before I (who is highly inquisitive and hopefully intelligent)thought of them. As a matter of fact it addressed so many issues that I have to go back to them slowly and digest them. It is difficult to understand as fully as I'd like since I've forgotten what little Catholic dogma I knew. Two things crossed my mind: I wish there would be a "debate" (as American presidents have) between a Rabbi and a Catholic priest...in order to hear "both sides of the story" AND I wish I could talk one on one with a Rabbi. I contacted my local synagogue (Easton, Maryland, USA)about 4 months ago when I was learning of my Sephardic roots and it didn't heed my request. (I respect the Jewish ways of not just "opening up" the doors to those that just knock on them) I respectfully want to comment on something said here...."that the Jewish people are growing in their numbers and returning to their homeland" I had just read in the last week about the "problem" with jews NOT being antisemitism but the dwindling numbers and that by year 2080 what a fraction of Jews will be on earth.
Nevertheless, thank you for your article and must say that even if "not fully Jewish" I can finally hold my chest upright and feel good about who I really am!

(6)
Anonymous,
March 7, 2004 12:00 AM

I am so grateful

Thank you Rabbi Simmons. Wonderful!!!
I am so grateful to be a Jew, and I appreciate the reminder of the beauty that I sometimes forget to remember!! :)

(5)
Anonymous,
March 7, 2004 12:00 AM

Excellent

A relatively comprehensive look "at the facts", without belaboring any one point.

(4)
stu reder,
March 7, 2004 12:00 AM

thank you!

once again, Rabbi, you have come forward to help your people. thank you and may God bless you and yours.
stu reder
stureder@gci.net

(3)
Norma Rockman,
March 7, 2004 12:00 AM

Desperately need that we Jews have erudite response to The Passion

Besieged by the immediacy brought about by The Passion, I have started out reading the New Testament for the first time in my life, with The Gospel according to Matthew, the Synoptic Gospels, to try to find out for myself just what Jesus preached and what is said. In the reading, I found myself immersed in feelings of pain, feelings of fascination with Oh, so this is what [this version] says, so this is what Christians read and preach, yet intellectually desperate for a learned response to who and what all of this is about from a Jewish standpoint. Never in my Orthodox shirium has anyone addressed the New Testament and we can barely utter the name "Jesus." This has proven a mistake, for me, because ignorance does not make one stronger. Best to educate ourselves and have the information you have presented here. I have Gibson to detest for waking sleeping dogs, yet have him to thank for catapulting me into the desire for edification. Thank you enormously for your erudition, because for Jews to remain silent and ignorant in the face of The Passion would be a grave mistake. We may detest Jesus for the false messiah that he was, a rabble rouser, seducer, sourcerer, etc., but better to educate ourselves so we can strengthen ourselves. Thanks. (I revised this about four times, so I hope you get this copy only!)

(2)
Meira Forgy,
March 7, 2004 12:00 AM

An excellent article.

Perhaps it should be circulated in Reform and Conservative religious schools. It would give the students (and their parents) some well-needed protection against missionaries and against their own doubts.

(1)
Chaia Sperling,
March 7, 2004 12:00 AM

Fantastic article! Now we (Jews) can more effectively respond to the goyim who make it their mission in life to convert us. Presenting facts and logic to discredit their very own arguments instead of offering emotional responses or half-recalled facts strenthen us.The experience most gentiles have with most Jews is that we are not as well versed in Torah (if at all) as they are. How can we then possibly dispute their arguments even if the tenets of their belief are based on distorted interpretations and mistranslations of our own Biblical scriptures .
Thank You, Rabbi Simmons, for writing this article. It couldn't have
come at a better time !

I've been striving to get more into spirituality. But it seems that every time I make some progress, I find myself slipping right back to where I started. I'm getting discouraged and feel like a failure. Can you help?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Spiritual slumps are a natural part of spiritual growth. There is a cycle that people go through when at times they feel closer to God and at times more distant. In the words of the Kabbalists, it is "two steps forward and one step back." So although you feel you are slipping, know that this is a natural process. The main thing is to look at your overall progress (over months or years) and be able to see how far you've come!

This is actually God's ingenious way of motivating us further. The sages compare this to teaching a baby how to walk. When the parent is holding on, the baby shrieks with delight and is under the illusion that he knows how to walk. Yet suddenly, when the parent lets go, the child panics, wobbles and may even fall.

At such times when we feel spiritually "down," that is often because God is letting go, giving us the great gift of independence. In some ways, these are the times when we can actually grow the most. For if we can move ourselves just a little bit forward, we truly acquire a level of sanctity that is ours forever.

Here is a practical tool to help pull you out of the doldrums. The Sefer HaChinuch speaks about a great principle in spiritual growth: "The external awakens the internal." This means that although we may not experience immediate feelings of closeness to God, eventually, by continuing to conduct ourselves in such a manner, this physical behavior will have an impact on our spiritual selves and will help us succeed. (A similar idea is discussed by psychologists who say: "Smile and you will feel happy.")

That is the power of Torah commandments. Even if we may not feel like giving charity or praying at this particular moment, by having a "mitzvah" obligation to do so, we are in a framework to become inspired. At that point we can infuse that act of charity or prayer with all the meaning and lift it can provide. But if we'd wait until being inspired, we might be waiting a very long time.

May the Almighty bless you with the clarity to see your progress, and may you do so with joy.

In 1940, a boatload 1,600 Jewish immigrants fleeing Hitler's ovens was denied entry into the port of Haifa; the British deported them to the island of Mauritius. At the time, the British had acceded to Arab demands and restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. The urgent plight of European Jewry generated an "illegal" immigration movement, but the British were vigilant in denying entry. Some ships, such as the Struma, sunk and their hundreds of passengers killed.

If you seize too much, you are left with nothing. If you take less, you may retain it (Rosh Hashanah 4b).

Sometimes our appetites are insatiable; more accurately, we act as though they were insatiable. The Midrash states that a person may never be satisfied. "If he has one hundred, he wants two hundred. If he gets two hundred, he wants four hundred" (Koheles Rabbah 1:34). How often have we seen people whose insatiable desire for material wealth resulted in their losing everything, much like the gambler whose constant urge to win results in total loss.

People's bodies are finite, and their actual needs are limited. The endless pursuit for more wealth than they can use is nothing more than an elusive belief that they can live forever (Psalms 49:10).

The one part of us which is indeed infinite is our neshamah (soul), which, being of Divine origin, can crave and achieve infinity and eternity, and such craving is characteristic of spiritual growth.

How strange that we tend to give the body much more than it can possibly handle, and the neshamah so much less than it needs!